Another Italian dream come true! The Men U20 claim the EuroVolley trophy
Recap
Another Italian dream came true on Sunday evening, as the Men’s U20 team claimed the EuroVolley title in this age group, beating after a thrilling five-setter Poland. Bulgaria took the bronze, winning at 3-1 against Belgium.
Gold Medal Match
A thrilling and exciting final match marked the end of a successful #EuroVolleyU20M, that took place in the past week in Montesilvano and Vasto. Italy completed the ultimate Italian dream this summer, becoming the last Italian team this summer, winning a gold in the underage categories (Italy had previously claimed the U22M, U18M, U21W, U17W, U19W).
Alessandro Bovolenta topped the charts with 20 points, followed by Luca Porro with 16. For Poland, Tytus Nowik was the best with 19.
Although the Poles started slightly better (3-0) and kept the pressure alive for the Italians, Luca Porro (#EuroVolleyU22M MVP) on the serve turned the tables (5-5). The two teams then started chasing each other in the score. Alessandro Bovolenta scored the important points after the 15th point, and supported by Porro on the serve, Italy opened in their favour.
Nicolò Volpe was on fire in the first minutes of the second set, but on the other side of the net Tytus Nowik was giving his best. However, with team efforts, Italy managed to take the leadership position. With Porro on the serve at the end of the set, the Italians did not leave any chances to their opponents, winning the second set as well.
Nothing was over for the Polish team, who came back stronger in the third set. Although Italy were leading in the beginning, Poland were able to come back, mainly thanks to the good performance of Piotr Sliwka. Italy tried to end things in three sets, breathing down their opponents’ necks, but after “a cat and mouse game”, Poland tied the set score.
Inspired, Poland controlled completely what was happening on the court in the fourth set as their attack, led by Nowik and Sliwka was working perfectly.
However, bringing the match into tiebreak, the Polsih players couldn’t seize their chances. Italy responded in the best possible way, taking the early lead, and never looking back, claiming the title.
Bronze Medal Match
Bulgaria outplayed Belgium in the bronze medal match. The recently crowned champions of the Balkans, the young Lions seized a 3-1 over the young Red Dragons in a match that lasted 101 minutes.
This way, the Bulgarians, under the guidance of head coach Martin Stoev and composed mainly by players who in 2021 finished second at the U19 World Championship, add yet another medal to their list of honours.
Statistically, Bulgaria proved better on blocking (10-8 kill blocks), and aced three times (to one). The Bulgarians also scored more on their opponents’ errors - 33 to 18. Belgium were slightly better on attacking - 47 to 46, while Ferre Reggers finished as top scorer (23 points), followed by Bulgaria’s Aleksandar Nikolov with 20.
Bouchkov on both attack and spiking, stormed to a 5-0 lead. With a good contribution by Ferre Rogers and Lennert Beelaert, Belgium tried to get back on track (11-9). However, it wasn’t enough to stop the inspired Bulgarians, who too back the leadership position thanks to a good performance by Georgi Tatatarov, and opened in their favour.
Both teams started inspired in the second set, going head-to-head (9-8), however the performance by the duo Nikolov-Tatarov (serve-spike) turned out to be a key moment in the set (16-12). Having established their rhythm of play, the Bulgarians got closer to the final victory.
Jippe Schroeven on the spiking gave Belgium “wings to fly” in the beginning of the third set (6-4). Bulgaria responded quickly, tying the score (10-10), but this time around, the Beglian players showed resilience, finishing the deciding balls. Jasper Verhamme’s strong serving in the end of the set, made it possible for Belgium to dream about a better outcome in the game.
After a close call in the beginning of the fourth set (6-6), Bulgaria, led by Nikolov, did not leave any chances to their rivals, claiming the bronze medals.