Serbia sweeps Austria in Pool A: CEV Volleyball European Championship
A Pool A match of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship was played between the Austrian national men’s volleyball team as well as the Serbian squad in which the Serbians claimed a straight set victory. All Pool A matches took place in the Austrian
city of Vienna at the Wiener Stadthalle which was packed with a crowd of 6800 spectators.
Despite the fact that the Austrians were playing on home court, they could not avoid being swept by the Serbians at the following final set scores: 16-25, 19-25 and 16-25.
Unfortunately for the Austrian team, they have not been able to even a single set in the tournament, while the recent win for the Serbians has allowed them to move onto the quarter-finals of the championship. It did not take longer than 69 minutes for the
Serbians to dismantle the Austrians.
The head coach of the Serbian team, Igor Kolakovic, expressed himself in the following manner at the press conference that was conducted after the match had reached its close: “I’m really satisfied with my team today. We now expect to meet France in the
quarterfinals. This will be a really tough game, so I’m happy that we are getting two days of rest now. We will try to get physically and mentally ready for September 15.”
On the other hand, the Austrian head coach, Michael Warm, shared his feelings in this way: “The technical precision of the Serbian players is impressive. We still have a lot to learn...We have always said that the EuroVolley 2011 is just the beginning.”
The start of the first set of the game was competitive as both the teams played with intensity. However, as the second technical time out was reached, the Serbians had the lead at 16-13. After that point, the Serbians did not relent and went on to win the
opening set of the game at 25-16.
The Austrians were able to respond in a much better way in the second set of the match but the attack of the Serbians proved to be too much of a challenge for Austria. Therefore, the Serbians picked up pace and led their side to a second win at 25-19.
Losing the first two sets of the game had a dampening effect on the Austrians despite the constant cheers of the crowd. The Austrians showed some promise in the start but the Serbians quenched all Austrian hopes by coming out strong and finally sealing the
deal on the final set at 25-16.
The top scorer among both teams was the Austrian player Thomas Zass with 13 points while the Serbian player, Sass Starovic, lead his side with a total of 10 points.
Tags: