Slovakia crushes Israel in straight sets – Volleyball news
Men’s national teams from Slovakia and Israel clashed in the first match of 2012 CEV Champions League on Thursday, while former bagged victory.
Slovak squad proved to be better in every aspect of the game and held off Israelis for 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 29-27) victory. The New Indoor Sports Hall in Katerini, Greece hosted the match, while less than two hundred people came to watch the performance.
Stefan Chrtiansky of Slovakia and Israel’s Milan Bencz had a tough competition in the match. Both players showcased amazing game tactics and ended with 13 points apiece.
However, Chrtiansky finished on the winning side and it proved to be a failing effort for Shafranovich. Slovakian Bencz and Stein of Israel had the similar situation as both of them contributed 11 points each to their respective teams.
Slovakia started off slow and lagged behind until Chrtiansky paced things with his killer spikes. Israel led the scores at first technical timeout but gradually fell down. Chrtiansky was joined by other players in the effort and they followed the same strategy
of hit ‘n’ run. Slovakia went up on the scoreboard whereas Israel failed to bounce back. Better attack and defence finally led Slovakia to first-set win with 25-20 on board.
Loss of opening set simply aggravated the Israeli players. They started hard hitting and threw everything in attack. Israel earned two-point lead at the FTT (8-6). Slovakia formulized a new plan during the timeout, which perfectly worked out. It was not
easy to break the rhythm of opponents but spirited effort enabled Slovakia to take lead at the next mandatory stop 16-15. Thereafter, Slovakia displayed consistent performance and extended its lead to 2-0 by winning second set (25-22).
Third set featured back n forth action. Slovakia was up to put an end to the game, while Israel tried hard to save the match. After a heated competition in third set, Slovakia claimed success with narrow gap of two points (29-27) and announced match victory.
“We have a very young group and we still have to learn to control the game after the 20-point mark. Slovakia is definitely stronger than us and so we have to play our best to be able to defeat such teams. Hopefully tomorrow we will kill Greece,” said Israeli
coach Zohar Bar Netzer after the game.
Winning Coach Stefan Chrtiansky was totally satisfied with the amazing feat of his team. He shared his views in the following manner, “I am very satisfied that this group that was playing its first international match together won that clearly. Anyway, Spain
remains the strongest opponent in this Pool.”
Next up, Slovakia is scheduled to take on hosts Spain whereas Israel will be challenged by hosts Greece on Friday.
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