Tbilisi poised to host Europe’s rising stars, competing at #EuroVolleyU18M
Preview
Players born on 1st January 2005 or thereafter will be taking the stage in the upcoming days as from July 9 through July 17 the CEV U18 Volleyball European Championship - Men, will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia.
12 teams will meet on the courts in the New Volleyball Arena in Tbilisi, participating in the main competition for national teams consisting of players under the age of 18 throughout the calendar year of the final round.
Much is at stake at this biennial event: beside the biggest goal of each team - the trophy, the Top 6 teams will book directly their spot at the 2023 Boys U19 FIVB World Championship.
Furthermore, the Top 8 (* or Top 7, depending on host country decision) will be invited to participate in the 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival In Maribor (SLO), meaning that Slovenia has the right to nominate their boys team even if not among the Top 8.
Italy are the defending champions from 2020, where in the Big Finale they defeated in straight sets the team of Czechia. Before that, in 2018, Germany took the Gold, finishing first.
Final Round
The top two sides from each pool will play crossed semi-finals and the subsequent medal matches, while the teams ranked third and fourth will be continuing their journey in the classification matches for places 5 to 8.
The Road to the Final Round
1st Round
In the 1st Round of Qualification, contested within each of the recognised Zonal Associations, the first placed team qualified directly to the Final Round.
Bulgaria from Pool BVA, Poland from Pool EEVZA, Slovenia from Pool MEVZA, Finland from Pool NEVZA, and Belgium from Pool WEVZA all did their job right in this Qualification phase, and qualified to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Kristian Titrijski from Bulgaria, who just finished second in the Balkan Championship U18, was outstanding with an average of 6.14 points/per set, and he might cause trouble to any opponent. Setter Simeon Nikolov, brother of rising star Alexander Nikolov, also deserves a special attention, as he was named Best Setter of the Balkan Championship.
Artur Brzostowicz from Poland was the best for his team in the 1st Qualification Round, helping his team to book their ticket for the Final Round, as he finished with an average 3.11 per set.
Luka Marovt of Slovenia turned out to be crucial for his team in the Qualifiers in 1st Round. He had an average of 4.61 points per set, and will be looking to improving this result.
Nooa Martilla of Finland contributed the most for the success of his team, helping them qualify for the Final Round with an average of 4.17 points per set.
For Belgium, the outside spiker Berre Van Looveren played a pivotal role, helping them for a positive outcome in the first round of the qualifications. Van Looveren scored an average of 4.65 per set. Libero Martin Lechien also deserves the attention of fans, as he is one of the best performing on his position, with 47% excellence in reception.
2nd Round
In late April, the teams who competed in the 1st Round but did not qualify, entered again a battle for a spot at the Final Round. Divided into six pools, playing single round robin tournaments, the first placed team from each pool qualified to the Final Round.
2nd Round Pools
Pool A
Italy, who are the defending champions in this age group, secured their spot at the Final Round after a five-setter against the other big pretender in the group - France. This way, with two victories to their names, the players of head coach Michele Zanini, remained unbeaten. The third team in the group, Croatia could not stand any chances, as they couldn’t seize a single victory.
Look out for…
Daniele Carpita is the top scorer for the young Azzurri team so far, with 80 points and 3.48pts./average per set.
France completed the line-up for the Final Round – as they are the runners-up with the best result across all pools.Thomas Pujol was above in the qualification campaign of his team, with an average of 4.86 points/per set.
Pool B
Serbia emerged as pool winners in the company of Türkiye, Denmark and Ukraine, as this happened before the Turkish team claimed the U18 title at the Balkan Championship just some days ago.
In the qualifier in April, and on home soil, the Serbian team won all their matches (one at 3-0, and two at 3-1), thus making it to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Luka Stankovic shined on the courts during the qualifier, and is currently on the top of the Best Scorers ranking - with 161 points, and an average of 5.96 per set.
Pool C
Greece couldn’t seize a straight-set victory, but this didn’t matter at the end of the Qualifier in their group, the Balkan team finished on the top, booking a ticket to the Final Round. The Greek players could overcome Latvia and Estonia.
Look out for…
Alexandros Nanopoulos, best outside spiker so far, has been one of the trump cards in the Greek offence, as he scored a total of 140 points (5.6 average/per set), and might cause problems to his rivals’ defence.
Pool D
In 2020, the German team in this age group finished fifth in the final rankings, and in 2022 will have the chance to improve this result, as they qualified to the Final Round of the tournament as the only unbeaten team in Pool D, where also Austria, Spain and Slovakia also fought for a place at the title-deciding phase.
Look out for…
Felix Baumann was above all in his team during the qualifiers, finishing with 103 points and an average of 4.12 points per set. Delivering smart play, setter Neo Laumann also called the attention, and might surprise the opponents when organising the attack of his team.
Pool E
The Czech Republic grabbed a ticket to the Final Round after emerging on the top in Pool E. With three wins out of three matches (against Israel, Romania and Portugal, respectively).
Czechia are the silver medallists from 2020, and even though there are changes in their roster, they still will aim high, as the goal might be reaching the podium again.
Look out for…
Matej Pastrnak has been one of the most efficient players for the Czech team in the qualifiers, and finished with an average of 4.96 points/per set. Jan Cerny in the middle can be an important weapon for coach Jiri Zach as he finished with 23 blocks in the qualifiers.
Where to follow
The #EuroVolleyU18M is the place where some of the future stars of seniors Volleyball can be watched as they go developing and improving, so make sure to keep updated on our social media channels & on the dedicated webpage. Follow the semifinals and medal matches live on EuroVolley.TV.