Cyprus holds off Ireland for 3-0 victory in the Small Countries Division – Volleyball news
The Men’s Junior National Volleyball Team of Cyprus staged spectacular action in the first match of Small Countries Division Final Round on Tuesday.
The pre-favourite team of the tournament Cyprus defeated Ireland, 3-0 (25-9, 25-7, 25-11). The Ravenscraig Regional Sports facility in Motherwell, Scotland hosted the match, which was most essentially regarded as one-sided affair.
Cyprus’ MOSCHOVAKIS Georgios was the real hero of the match. He put up a great effort for his team and contributed 15 points. He was the only player in the match who touched the double-digit scores.
His teammates, STYLIANOU and YIANNAKKOS added 7 and 5 points, respectively. COMENDANT was the top scorer in Irish team and scored five points.
Cyprus opened the match with great accurate serves and faced no difficulty in landing the ball on Irish half. They added quick points and picked up a lead, while Ireland team was sort of irresistible. The Irish defenders tried their best to stop the attacking
shots but most of their efforts went futile.
MOSCHOVAKIS showed no mercy to the opponents and hit from all angles. The opening set of the match covered its length in only 21 minutes and Cyprus claimed victory. Ireland could only score 9 points, while Cyprus touched the finish line.
The second set did not bring a better luck for Irish team as Cyprus firmly held the control of the operations in hand. With better attack and defence capability, Cyprus kept the underdog Irish squad behind the attack line. The entire second set progressed
in the same way. Eventually, Cyprus hit the mark with 25-7 win in the set and improved to 2-0.
Cyprus enjoyed a great rhythm in third set and finished the third set at 25-11. Ireland played comparatively better in third set but failed to clinch success.
The mentor of Irish team, Laurent Cauet, said, “It was our first game at this level so we knew that we had to start somewhere. There was a clear gap between the teams as Cyprus is considered to be one of the tournament favourites. The good thing on our side
was that we responded to the challenge and we did not give up. Our heads did not drop and we fought for each ball. This can be seen in the third set as we were leading 8:6 going to the first technical time-out. This showed me that we can raise our game and
that we have more to offer.”
Ireland’s team captain Luke Uniacke expressed the similar feelings. He said the match was mix of good and bad points for them but his team will certainly improve in the next games.
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