Montenegro finish #EuroVolleyU22M qualifier on a high note

Curtains came down on the #EuroVolleyU22M Pool F qualifying matches contested at the Feti Borova Sports Hall in Tirana on Sunday, as Montenegro beat the home side in three sets, taking a much-needed win to finish second in the standings on four points. Table-toppers Austria had, a day earlier, secured their place in the Final Round of the competition, which is due to take place in Tarnow, Poland, from July 12-17, 2022.

In fact, the first set was an intense affair, with the Albanian team coached by Ben Sako leading all the way, much to the excitement of the home crowd. However, Montenegro came back, to tie the score at 22-22 and proceed to lead 24-22. Their final set point was not to come easy, as the home team first cancelled the opportunity twice, levelling the score at 24-24, and three more times, in the sudden death, taking both teams to 27-27. However, coach Balsa Radulovic’s team kept their nerve to take the first set 29-27, whereas the second set was one to forget for Albania, which appeared a completely different side to the one of the first set. 

Montenegro did lead all the way and built its dominance, running away with the set convincingly 25-12, before proceeding to complete the task in the third set, by winning it 25-18, thus taking home a 3-set victory to seal the second place in Pool F.