Slovakia grabs first win at European Olympic Qualifiers by defeating Finland – Volleyball news
Following a loss in opening match 2012 European Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament, Slovakia got back on track and claimed victory in the next fixture.
Slovakia came into contest with Finland on Thursday at Arena Armeec in Sofia, Bulgaria and gave out a winning performance. Slovaks posted 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19) win over Finland and stayed in contention for a place in semis slated for Saturday.
Finland, on the other hand, ended up with 0-3 record and got disqualified from the competition. Finland lost its previous two matches to Italy and Germany.
Scoring machine Peter Michalovic contributed 20 points to help Slovakia. Likewise, Frantisek Ogurcak and Lukas Divis chipped in 17 and 16, respectively. Finland had only player in the form of Matti Hietanen, who went into double-figure score by adding 13
points.
Slovakia dominated from start to end in the opening frame of the match. Slovaks influenced the Finnish offensively and defensively. The attackers produced point-scoring shots, while the blockers stood like a concrete wall. Finland trailed behind and suffered
the loss of opening set at 20-25. First set win was mainly credited to skipper and setter of Slovakian team.
The second set unfolded the similar story. Slovakia came up with convincing attacks and took the score by storm. Finland became irresistible and failed to stop pumped-up Slovaks. Michal Masny of Slovakia displayed terrific performance and led the team to
second set win at 25-16.
Finland created a bit of spark with third-set win but Slovakia bounced back in fourth set and finished the match 3-1.
“We are very happy that we won the game and saved our chances to qualify for the semifinals. Today we were serving and defending very well. We came onto the court with one goal – to get the three points. Now it is time to calm down and start preparing for
tomorrow’s game against Italy,” said Slovakian captain Michal Masny.
Meanwhile, the Head Coach of Slovakia Stefan Chrtiansky commented, “Slovakia showed another face in today’s game. We were strong mentally. We put a lot of energy on the court. I am happy that we upgraded our numbers in attack and reception. We are ready
to fight with Italy for a semi-final spot.”
Next up, Slovakia is scheduled to clash the tough competitor Italy. Both teams will be vying for only one empty slot in the semi-finals on Friday. Italy has relatively better record in Pool-Play round as it has not dropped any match so far.
However, the situation will become evident when both teams will get down to some real action on the centre court. Check back for latest results and updates.
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