Denmark deliver the Silver League title behind Jensen, Hungary take 3rd place

Denmark defeated North Macedonia on their home court in Strumica on Sunday night to win the European Silver League and advance to next year’s golden league.

Denmark defeated North Macedonia on their home court in Strumica on Sunday night to win the European Silver League and advance to next year’s golden league. The team was led by two young stars in the making. Mads Kyed Jensen, who spent a year as volleyball’s tallest setter at UCLA before playing in Italy’s Verona last season, scored 32 points in the match despite only being 22 years old. He was joined by the even younger Oskar Kjerstein Madsen, who had 17 points with 2 blocks and 2 aces. The youngsters were supported by veteran setter Axel Jacobsen, who steadied the team in tight moments and put his attackers in a position to succeed.

North Macedonia put up a strong fight, especially in a tense third set that went into overtime, finishing at 27-25. An emotional Nikola Gjorgiev put up 14 points in the losing effort, alongside outside hitter Aleksandar Ljaftov who scored the same amount. We will see this team next at EuroVolley 2021 in September.

In Strumica, North Macedonia on Sunday evening Hungary delivered a thrilling 5-set match against Croatia that they won in the last moments. A scoring machine in both Korean and Russian leagues in recent seasons, Hungarian opposite Krisztian Padar led the charge with 27 points with an incredible 10 aces during the match.

Croatia had several opportunities, but unfortunately this was the second time during the final 4 that they lost in a full 5 sets, yesterday letting North Macedonia get ahead and win at the end. Outside hitters Marko Sedlacek and Filip Sestan both had 18 points for Croatia. They qualified for EuroVolley 2021 after missing the tournament in 2019.