Czechia and Ukraine complete clean sweeps in #EuroVolleyU20W qualifiers
News
Czechia emerged victorious from the second-round qualifier contested in Kaunas, Lithuania, to qualify for the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU20W in Bulgaria and Ireland in emphatic style.
On the last day of action in Kaunas, the Czech team proved they deserved their status of pre-favourites of the match by defeating hosts Lithuania 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-15), thus making it three wins in as many matches and securing a ticket to the Final Round. Anastasija Jesipenko scored nine points, and Arina Petuchova added eight to the count of the home side. Viktorie Dvorakova (12 points) and Martina Pokorna (11) were the most effective players for the Czech side.
Jan Vaclavik“We performed well throughout the tournament, and I can single out the two most important moments. The first was today’s first set, and the second was our 3-2 victory over the Slovenians after losing the first two sets. Those were key situations, and we did a good job. We really wanted to get to the European Championship, and this is a big achievement for us, because we have not played in the U20 finals for a good decade."
Head coach of Czechia
Earlier in the afternoon, Team Slovenia secured second place in the pool after defeating Montenegro in straight sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-4). The Slovenian team literally dominated this match as shown by all statistical data and showed no signs of letting go the game until the very end. Nina Svetina scored 18 points for the winners, as Lavra Križanič added 10. Lana Rakocevic was the most productive player for Montenegro with five points only.
In Pool C contested in Kienbaum, Ukraine had started the tournament with two victories and was already confirmed as the group winners even before their final matchup with hosts Germany. Despite this, Ukraine showed much motivation and forced the opponent to make mistakes. It was only in the third set that Germany was able to show its real strength, but Ukraine finished the game in set four (25-13, 25-22, 20-25, 25-22) to complete a clean sweep of their matches in the group. Ukraine coach Artem Dygtyarenko: “I am very happy. We had a good preparation, and the players were fit for this tournament and played very well.” Top scorer in the matchup with Germany was Kristina Starostenko with 18 points.
Earlier in the afternoon, Finland had celebrated their second win in Kienbaum, this time against their neighbours from Estonia. With an impressive tally of 14 blocks and 16 aces, the Finnish team produced another impressive performance. Top scorer, like in the previous day’s match with Germany, was Annika Koivuniemi with 19 points. Estonia finished the tournament in fourth place with no wins in three matches.