Slovakia celebrate first #EuroVolleyU20M participation in 16 years
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Slovakia cruised to three straight wins in Podgorica to secure their participation in the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU20M – a feat they have achieved for the first time in 16 years. Finland finished second on a 2-1 win-loss record to progress to the third and last round of qualifiers, with Norway and hosts Montenegro ending their journey, as they had to settle for third and fourth place in Pool H, respectively.
Slovakia started the tournament with a 3-2 (17-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-13) victory over Finland. Erik Gulak top scored for Slovakia with 14 points, while Miika Haapaniemi and Nico Mäki-Valtari registered 13 apiece for the Finns. Later on Friday, Norway beat hosts Montenegro 3-2 as well (21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12). Miro Miljanic scored 24 times for Montenegro in their losing effort, as Syver Drolsum Klungsøyr registered an impressive 35 points for Norway.
On Saturday, Finland defeated Norway 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-17) to claim the Nordic derby. Klungsøyr amassed 24 points for Norway but that was not enough to prevent a setback – as Nooa Marttila scored 18 times for the winners. Later in the day, Slovakia improved their record to two straight wins as they beat Montenegro 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16). Gulak (21 points) top scored for the second straight day for Slovakia as Vukasin Cimbaljevic registered 22 for the home side.
Ivan Hiadlovský“It was a difficult match for us. We served very well in the first set and that tactic paid dividends. Montenegro claimed a small advantage in the second set but we were able to turn things around and eventually won that set too. In the third set, we made three mistakes in attack and the opponent started a positive run. We withstood the pressure and remained focussed in the fourth set, where the Montenegrins kept the score tight but we managed to break away and secure a second victory."
Head coach of Slovakia
On Sunday, Slovakia beat Norway 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-21, 15-7) to secure their spot in the #EuroVolleyU20M Final Round for the first time in 16 years. Klungsøyr was again Norway’s top scorer (22), as Adrian Petruf paced Slovakia with a personal tally of 18 points.
“As I expected, this was the hardest match of the whole tournament for us. We did not start well, and we did not put pressure on the opponent with our serve, whilst Norway had good passes to set up their attackers in the best way. Gradually, we changed key positions and the boys who came in coped well with the pressure. We fought back and the match developed in our favour. In the fifth set, Branislav Hanusek had a good series from the service line, we dominated and we eventually won. We are very happy that after 16 years we have made it to the Final Round in this age group. We thank the whole of Slovakia and all the clubs that have raised these boys,” said Hiadlovský.
To complete the programme of the tournament, Finland beat Montenegro 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-13) to finish second in the standings. Nooa Marttila scored 15 times for the Finns, as Miro Miljanic chipped in with nine for Montenegro.
Oskar Muurinen“We did what we had to do today. We brought the main players of Montenegro under control and did stick with our tactics. We have reached our minimum goal – which was to make it at least to Round 3. Two and a half sets against Slovakia had all the pieces piled up, but the other half of the game was weak. As a team, we were the best in the tournament if you look at the skills of the seven players standing on the court. Let us take the good stuff from here and improve."
Head coach of Finland