Austria set sights on #EuroVolleyU22M Final Round

Team Austria took a big step toward qualifying for the final stage of the inaugural U22 Men’s European Championship by winning the first match of the Pool F, which is currently taking place in the Albanian capital, Tirana.

Coach Markus Hirczy’s team took an early lead, building their advantage from 3-0 to 8-5 and 10-6 and proceeding to run off at 23-15. Although the home team coached by Ben Sako, started cutting the deficit and eventually reduced it to five points, the Austrians kept cool to win the first set 25-18.

The second set started brightly for the home team, taking the lead up to 6-2, but the visitors responded swiftly, overturning the score at 9-8 and not letting go until the end, thus taking the set convincingly 25-16. The third set was an evenly balanced battle, with both teams fighting for every point and not letting each other go. However, with the score tied at 23-23, Markus Hirczy’s team showed much composure to take the set 25-23 and wrap up the win in three sets in 76 minutes.

The Austrians play Montenegro on Saturday, with the game starting at 18:00 CEST, searching for the second win that would seal their qualification to the Final Round, while Albania keep their fingers crossed as they take some rest and prepare for the final match on Sunday with the Montenegrins.