Russia makes it to the semi-final of 2011 CEV Boys’ Youth Championship
Russian Boys’ Youth National Volleyball Team posted 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, and 25-17) victory over Ukraine in the semi-final qualifying match on Wednesday, April 20.
The 2011 CEV Boys’ Youth European Championship is underway in Ankara, Turkey. The tournament was officially started off on April 16 and it is scheduled to complete its run on April 24. A total of 12 boys’ teams from all across the Europe are on the board
to showcase their volleyball skills. The championship has crossed the halfway mark and has entered the semi-final stage. Russia is one of the lucky contenders, which settled for the semi-final spot in Pool I.
The match was opened with an average exchange of serves. Both teams were playing their fourth match with just one-day break and looked visibly tired. The opening half of the first set was full of errors from both sides.
Gradually, the players settled down in their positions and controlled over the unnecessary mistakes. Russia attacked with the captain boy, Vladimir Manerov. He put away the ball with great accuracy and precision. As a result, Russia’s score rose up. Russians
were on the right track and they managed to steal points from their opponents. In the meantime, Ukraine struggled to fight for supremacy and hit some nice shots.
Somehow, the Ukrainian team lagged behind with a margin of three points at the second technical timeout (13-16). The Russian side gained more confidence in the game and tried to stretch the gap of points. Ukrainian side focused on defence, in order to stop
Russia’s score but Russia proved to be better side and secured first set with the help of 25-20.
Ukrainian side was totally fired-up with the loss of opening set. They came up with a different plan in the following set. They threw everything in attack and struggled to cover the deficit of previous set. Roman Mishurovskyi worked out a great performance
and helped Ukrainian team with five consecutive points. Russia suffered the set back and trailed behind, while Ukraine picked up lead. It seemed as if Ukraine was totally shaped up to tie the game in second set.
Nevertheless, the Russian side continued putting more and more effort. They jumped on every little opportunity to score points. Russia was three-point behind Ukraine at the second technical timeout (13-16). Ukraine led the game with better score until 21-16.
Afterwards, Russians put up a great fight and tied the score at 23-all. Taras Chekhonadskikh was credited for his prolific game. Russia followed the same strategy and managed to finish second set at 26-24. Despite of great efforts, Ukraine failed to defeat
Russia.
Third set of the game was solely dominated by Russians. They started out really well and maintained a fair distance of points from Ukraine. Ukraine trailed behind with three-point margin at first technical break.
Russia continued with success and took the next jump to 16-14 at the second mandatory stop. The Ukrainian players fought well but could not change the mood of the game. Russia finished third set at 25-17 and claimed the match. The victory promoted Russia
in the semi-final of the 2011 CEV Boys’ Youth European Championship.
The head coach of Ukrainian team, Yuriy Dmytriyev acknowledged the better status of Russian team.
He stated, “I can’t find any words for the end of the second set. We had the chance to push the Russians to their limits. But we were not strong enough.”
On the other hand, Russian mentor Kondra commented, “My players were not ready today after one day of rest. I tried to stimulate them, but we didn’t reach our best level.”
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