Hungary and Denmark stay perfect after first European League weekend
Report
Denmark in Pool A and Hungary in Pool B won their CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2021 - Men matches on Sunday and finished the first round-robin tournaments in their pools with impeccable 3-0 win-loss records.
LUXEMBOURG vs AUSTRIA
0-3 (19-25, 22-25, 21-25)
Pool B
Austria achieved their first victory since the start of the battles in Pool B. After shutting out Luxembourg on Sunday, the squad from the Grand Duchy remained the only winless team in the pool. However, only in the first set there was clear Austrian domination throughout. Luxembourg had the lead early into each of the next two sets, but both times Austria came from behind to win – relying on the many opponent errors in the second set and on their own spiking effort in the third. Austria’s Clemens Ecker was the best scorer of the match on 17 points, while Mateja Gajin scored 16 for Luxembourg.
Pompiliu Dascalu“Once again we did not play well at the end of the sets. I think that made the difference today. We're actually not that far away, but still we lose. We will try to do better at our home tournament next week."
Head coach of Luxembourg
Radovan Gacic“We are the better team, therefore we are happy to have won. Now we have to secure two victories at Luxembourg. When we are aggressive in blocking and in defence, it's possible to qualify for the Final Four. I am satisfied that young players like Johannes Kratz and Mark Kremer delivered strong performance during the first European Silver League weekend.”
Head coach of Austria
HUNGARY vs CROATIA
3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20)
Pool B
Hungary extended their winning streak in Pool B to three in three, after a four-set victory over the other unbeaten team in the pool. Croatia were on the other side of the net suffering their first loss in the tournament. Croatia did very well in blocking, especially in the first two sets of the match. Their offence, however, did well in only one of them, but let them down in the other one. With the match score level, Hungary stepped up their spiking performance during the second half of the game and celebrated the victory. Their star opposite Krisztian Padar hammered out the 24-point match high, including four aces, while Marko Sedlacek was Croatia’s most prolific player on 16 points.
Robert Koch“We played very well today. It was better than I expected. Both teams were a bit tired, but we were more focused at the decisive moments and that was the key."
Head coach of Hungary
Emanuele Zanini“We knew that Hungary are a strong team. They also had some fresh players on the squad. They played really well and put pressure on our reception with their strong serves. The first set was somehow decisive. In the fourth set we were not able to come back. Now we will recover and prepare well for the second tournament."
Head coach of Croatia
ISRAEL vs CYPRUS
3-2 (25-14, 25-27, 25-27, 25-21, 18-16)
Pool A
The two winless teams in Pool A put on a thrilling five-set battle on day three of the first round-robin tournament in Strumica. With three of the sets pushed into overtime, it was Israel that finally emerged with their first victory in the competition, leaving Cyprus on a 0-3 record. Strong serving in the first set helped the Israelis gain control and take the lead. Cyprus pushed back from the serving line in the next two sets and taking advantage of the abundant errors on the Israeli side reversed the course of the match after two times 27-25. Regaining precision on the court, Israel levelled the match again to prompt a nail-biting tie-breaker, in which their blockers made the difference towards an 18-16 win. Cyprus’s Nikolaos Eleftheriou topped the match charts on 27 points, followed by Israel’s Ido David on 23 and Tamir Hershko on 22.
Tamir Hershko“I’m very glad we won. It was an important victory for us. It kept us in the picture for the Final Four, which is our goal. I hope that next week we will be stronger and will get better results in Denmark."
Outside hitter of Israel
NORTH MACEDONIA vs DENMARK
0-3 (21-25, 23-25, 24-26)
Pool A
Denmark stayed in perfect shape in their quest to qualify for the Final Four. In a three-set match on Sunday in Strumica, they handed Pool A tournament hosts North Macedonia their first defeat to stay undefeated themselves halfway through the pool stage of the competition. Playing well in offence, the Danes won the first set. In a tight second, the Macedonians upped their spiking effort, but Denmark’s blockers made the difference. In an even tighter third set, their serving also helped close the match with a shutout. Mads Kyed Jensen scored as many as 22 points for the winners, while North Macedonia’s Nikola Gjorgiev finished with 17.