Spain beats Greece in straight sets - 2011 CEV Volleyball European League
The Men’s national volleyball team of Spain posted a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, and 25-19) victory over Greece in the opening match of the fourth week of the CEV European league on Friday, June 17.
Spain and Greece are grouped in Pool B of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League alongside Austria and the Netherlands. In the first three weeks, Spain worked out great performances and got a hold of the top spot in the standings with maximum points in
hand. The Spaniards continued with their success in the fourth week and added another victory to their count by defeating Greece.
It was the third meeting of the two teams in the preliminary rounds of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League. Spain was successful in the last two matches, which were played in the last week on consecutive days. Greece had the opportunity to host both
matches but they couldn’t take advantage of familiar surroundings. Spain pulled off back to back wins and added to that by winning the third and most recent encounter.
Match Overview
With the first whistle, Spain came up with powerful serves thanks to Rafael Marlon. The captain Julian Garcia-Torres threw unstoppable cross court shots as Spain went up by a margin of four points at the first technical timeout. The Greek side played under
pressure but Nikolaos Roumeliotis of Greece put up a good effort and struggled to improve his team’s score by frequent attacks. His effort was commendable but it did not create a clear difference on scoreboard. Greece trailed behind Spain at the second technical
timeout with a four-point margin. Furthermore, Spain added quick points and stretched the gap of points as the Greeks failed to catch up with the lightening speed of the Spaniards and lost the opening set, 19-25.
Greece did not let the second set pass them by as they came up with a new game-plan. They hit back strongly and promptly earned advantage over their opponents. Spanish team was stunned with the abrupt strike of the Greek spikers. They pushed the Spaniards
behind the attack line and picked up a lead of 8-6 at the first technical break. Home team came from different angles and tried to break the rhythm of Greeks but couldn’t get the grip of the game. Greece continued with the same spirit and maintained lead up
until the second mandatory stop. Spaniard couldn’t diminish the difference but were able gifted service errors from the Greek side.
Spain was ready to cash in the mistakes of their opponents. They played sensibly and managed to surpass Greece at 21-19. Afterwards, the Greeks tried hard to regain control of the game but the Spanish side didn’t budge. Second set also ended in Spain’s favour
as Greece fell further in the hole
Spanish squad learned something in the second set and staged a solid game in the opening phase of the third set. They kept an upper hand on their rivals from the very beginning and rallied past and claimed the match by winning third set at 25-19.
Next up
The two sides will meet again on Saturday, June 18 in the second match. Spain has accumulated a record of three consecutive victories against Greece, which signals that Spaniards are thinking of making a clean sweep.
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