Türkiye is the new Golden #EuroLeagueM champion!
Recap
The winner of the Men’s 2023 CEV Volleyball European Golden League is Türkiye! After an exciting five-setter, it was Türkiye who claimed the title, the trophy, and the gold medals. Ukraine is a runner-up, and Croatia won a bronze medal in an exhilarating match against Czechia. Let’s start from the beginning!
Gold Medal Match, Türkiye vs Ukraine: 3-2 (14-25, 25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 15-6)
When looking at the first set, it looked like it was going to be an easy win for Ukraine. But we all know that nothing in volleyball is easy. The whole first set was going in favor of Ukraine and with 9-15 on the scoreboard, we were looking at an “easy” first set. There wasn’t much Türkiye could have done and the set ended by 14-25.
The second set then brought on a lot more excitement. Ukraine walked better into this one but Türkiye managed to equalize it and take the lead, but also a small advantage (18-15). Ukraine was fighting hard but this one was Türkiye’s and they closed it by 25-22.
The third set was completely played point-by-point whereas Türkiye was a bit in the lead and then Ukraine. But in the end, it was Türkiye who took another set by 26-24 and they were closer to the gold medal than their opponents. Nothing much different happened in the fourth set where it was once again played point-by-point. After all, this is the final match. But Ukraine was for a shade a better team and they closed this set by 22-25 which only meant that the fifth set is going to decide who is lifting the trophy.
Türkiye walked into the fifth set full of confidence and already had a six-point advantage (8-2) and it only grew they closed this set by 15-6 and the celebration on the court started because Türkiye is the new Golden #EuroLeagueM champion! Congratulations!
Bronze Medal Match, Czechia vs Croatia: 0-3 (23-25, 18-25, 20-25)
The match for third place brought on a lot of excitement. Croatia dominated throughout the whole three sets and they’ve taken the bronze medal from the 2022 European Golden League champions, so for Czechia to not be on a podium this year, it came as a surprise.
It is safe to say that this Croatia is something we didn’t see throughout the whole tournament. Confident, focused, and with such team spirit that is beyond compare. This is why they won back-to-back bronze medals!
The only time that Czechia was in the lead in the first set was with their first two points. After that, it was a Croatian game all the way. Their dominance was unstoppable and they closed the first set by 23-25. Kill blocks were something that Croatia had a lot in the whole match and Czechia couldn’t break through their tough defense.
There wasn’t much that Czechia could have done in the second set. Although it started off equally, Croatia soon took the initiative and once again showed them that they are really ready to fight for this medal. With 10-15 it was quite obvious that Croatia is going to do everything to secure the bronze and they were one step closer when they closed the set by 18-25.
The last set once again showed Croatian confidence and domination. Even though Czechia got back in the game in the middle of the set, Croatian men turned everything around and closed the set, and match, with five points of advantage (20-25).