Serbia advances to final of 2011 CEV Boys’ Youth European Championship
The Serbian Boys’ National Youth Volleyball Team clawed its way to the final match by posting 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, and 25-23) victory over Bulgaria on Saturday, April 23.
The match was held in Turkish city Ankara, where the Baskent Sports Hall set the field for an amazing semi-final encounter. The Serbs proved to be the best team in every aspect of the game and clinched success in straight sets.
Serbia had a tough competition with Bulgaria in the preliminary round of Pool II. Bulgaria held the top slot, while Serbia had to be content with the second position. Nevertheless, Serbia outshined with better status in the semi-final match against Bulgaria.
The opening set of the match was tight affair. Serbia started out with commanding serves but Bulgarian middle-blocker did an amazing job as well. The score shifted with a narrow gap of points. At the first technical timeout (FTT), Serbia managed to take
a lead of one-point (8-7).
The game progressed in the same fashion and both sides produced admirable shots. Milan Katic of Serbia was full in action. He played nice cross course shots and added valuable points in his team’s score. Bulgaria struggled to chase but lagged behind. Serbs
stretched the gap of points at second technical timeout and went up with a margin of two points (16-14).
The useful lead of two points encouraged Serbian players to make more progress in the game. Serbia remained ahead of opponents and secured first set by posting 25-23.
Serbia was in top form and first-set win provided them a competitive edge in the game. They opened the second set with confident shots and picked a lead over Bulgaria. Uros Kovacevic, the captain boy of Serbian team was simply on fire. He chipped in important
points and created much trouble for the opponents. Serbs led the score at FTT (8-6).
Following the first technical timeout, Bulgaria came from back row attack. They attacked with Georgi Topalov, who added four consecutive points. Bulgaria went up with two-point lead but Serbia hit back strongly. The Serbs chase the score and once again took
control of the operations. They remained remarkably consistent and overpowered Bulgaria with the help of 25-22.
The loss of two consecutive sets dragged Bulgaria under the clouds of uncertainty. The team was deep down in trouble, while Serbian side was totally charged-up. Bulgarian head coach realigned the team line and urged them to hit the right spot.
Bulgaria showed great fighting and built one-point lead at the first technical timeout. They followed the same approach and maintain their lead until the next technical break. Serbia was three points behind at the second mandatory stop. It seemed as if Bulgaria
had got its form back. They led the game and did not allow Serbs to hinder their performance. The game entered the final phase, while Bulgaria led the scoring chart at 21-19.
The Serbs were surprised by the heavy strike of volleys from the rivals. They were in dire need to break the rhythm of Bulgarian squad. In the need of hour, Katic and Aleksander Okolic of Serbia supported their team. They worked out nice shots and pushed
the opponents behind. The third set dramatically ended in Serbia’s favour with the final score of 25-23.
The mentor of Serbia team, Milan Djuricic expressed his views at the post-match press conference. He said, “It was a tactical move to line up Uros Kovacevic as opposite. This helped us to surprise our opponents.”
In the meanwhile, Kovacevic commented that the Serbian team played strong game against Bulgaria and they will be doing the same in the final match.
Victor Karagiozov, the Bulgarian head coach commented, “We committed too many easy errors today. It’s impossible to beat Serbia in that manner. It was our worst game so far here in Turkey.”
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