European League 2010

Povoa de Varzim, Portugal, June 13, 2010. The Portuguese national team defeated this afternoon Greece once again in five sets (25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 19-25 and 15-9) to claim the fourth straight victory in as many matches played so far for the 2010 CEV European League and the ninth triumph out of the last 10 international matches (6 played for the qualifications to the next European Championships are indeed to be added to the count).
Greece entered the match in a good mood (3:1), but Portugal tied the score shortly after, with Flávio Cruz spiking at the first touch and with an ace (3:3). A double block from Joao Jose and Andre Lopes granted Portugal a 3-point advantage after the first technical break and forced Greek coach Gordon Mayforth to ask for a time-out followed shortly after by another when Portugal, with an ace from Valdir Sequeira, scored the 12:7. The good moment of the Portuguese team was very clear in the good understanding between their setter, Tiago Violas, and Joao Jose (14:9). After arriving at the second mandatory stop with a margin of 5 points, the team around coach Juan Diaz allowed Greece to get a bit closer (16:13) but, with an ace of Flavio Cruz, widened once again the gap (18:14). Valdir scored point nr 21 and 22 and that paved the way for the final 25-19.
In the second set, Greece tried to battle equally with Portugal. Andreas Andreadis, with two consecutive blocks, tied the score (9:9), after Portugal had arrived at the first technical time-out in advantage (8:5). Nevertheless Portugal was playing much better than yesterday and Greece was unable to present a decisive fight. The hosts arrived at the second technical time-out with a 3-point lead and continued to play consistently until their triumph at 25-21, even though Greece tried to come back. The third set was completely different from the previous ones. Mayforth made some changes in his team and Greece gained anima and even an ascendant in the score (8:5, 10:6, 14:8), arriving at the second technical time-out with a clear advantage (16:10). Two aces from Roumeliotis exposed the difficulties of the local team in reception and rewarded the good exhibition of the guests in this set with a robust advantage (21:12), practically impossible to annul. Greece won eventually the set with a clear 25-15. Once again, Greece pressured more in the beginning of the fourth set and Roumeliotis added immediately 2 more points (2:0) to the 13 that he had scored in the previous sets. An ace from Andreadis increased even more the gap (8:5 for Greece). Shortly after, the advantage was already of 5 points (13:8). Portugal regrouped and shortened (12:14), but Greece carried the slight advantage until the second mandatory stop (16:14) and stretched it afterwards, taking benefits from a period of disorientation across the Portuguese team (18:14). The offensive “festival” from Roumeliotis continued (23:18) until Fragkos scored the final 25-19.
In the fifth set, Portugal tried to dictate, from the start, the course of the scoreboard (2:1, 4:2, 7:5) and was able to reach the technical time-out in advantage (8:6), even though Roumeliotis continued scoring in attack. Aspiotis, with a block on Valdir, tied at 9. Portugal “woke up” at that time and, with Frederico Siqueira in the serving area, got the lead. Captain Joao Jose scored point 12 (12:9) and the hosts never stopped until the end that arrived at 15-9 with an ace. Nikolaos Roumeliotis was the best scorer of the match with 26 points, while Valdir Sequeira, with 18, was the top scorer for the home team.
Local coach Juan Diaz commented: “Greece is a very tough team. We dominated the two first sets, but afterwards the reception and the service started to fail and Greece took advantage of these flaws. In the fifth set, we amended that situation and ended up by winning well the match. With this kind of matches, the team gains much more maturity”.
Spiker Andre Lopes added: “We started very well, we controlled the match, but afterwards, in the third and fourth sets, without knowing exactly why, we went down. Fortunately, we were able to turn the match around and won the game in the tie-break”.
Greece’s coach Gordon Mayforth: “Congratulations to Portugal. It is very hard to lose two matches like this”.

Results
Portugal vs. Greece 3:2 (25-19, 25-21, 15-25, 19-25, 9-15)

Gaziantep, Turkey, June 13, 2010. Turkey celebrated another victory this afternoon in Gaziantep as the local guys defeated once again Austria for the second leg of the 2010 CEV European League. This time the hosts needed four sets to cruise past their opponents but finally were happy with their overall performance.
After the previous match staged on Saturday, their Croatian-born coach Veljko Basic had stated: “We had to work too much to find consistency in blocking and serving and hence were affected by some errors. We did not play really good but this is a very young team, so it takes time to have things run properly. Still I want to have my young players on the court since the European League represents a very important chance to get international experience. And at the end of the match we were able to realize that this tactic paid off”.
This afternoon the teams set up a very exciting battle, with the score staying extremely close in the opening set. After the first technical break, Turkey changed gear and especially young setter Berkan Bozan performed really well. The hosts stretched their margin at the second mandatory stop (16:12) and profiting of some mistakes of their opponents closed the set pretty quickly at 25-18. Austria fought back bravely in the second set and Thomas Zass scored many points in attack. That was the key to level the match with the set ending at 25-23 for the guests. Turkey led all the way through in the third set, with Burutay Subasi and Ahmet Pezuk contributing pretty much to the final 25-18. Austria clawed back in the opening section of the first set, leading first 4:0 and then 8:5 at the first technical time-out. Even though the guests set the tempo also for the second compulsory break (16:12), still Turkey stormed back – especially with Serhat Coskun – and captain Sinan Cem Tanik to finally tie at 23 and finish the match some minutes later. Austrian Thomas Zass topped the charts of the best scorers this afternoon with 25 points while Serhat Coskun was the most effective among the Turks with a total of 17.

Results
Turkey vs. Austria 3:1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-18, 26-24)

Stats Photos

Crawley, Great Britain, June 16, 2010. Great Britain captain Ben Pipes does not want another taste of déjà vu when his team hosts Romania in a CEV European League double-header at Crawley this weekend. Pipes has seen GB follow an identical pattern this season in the competition - losing 3:1 in the first matches (to Slovakia and Spain) and then turning it around the following day with stunning 3:0 wins.
The setter knows that similar results this weekend will still leave them playing catch-up in their pool but a double victory over Romania would put them top. Pipes knows the young GB squad is growing up fast and even without the vastly experienced Jason Haldane proved too hot for Spain in Salamanca last Saturday.
“I’m obviously delighted, it was a big turnaround from a 3:1 loss to a 3:0 win," he stated.
"It was like déjà vu from the previous weekend when we beat Slovakia 3:0 on the Sunday match at EIS in Sheffield. It was a solid performance - not always pretty - but we battled for the result which means we maintained the level, so now is the time for us to say that this is the level we keep, to get this type of result going forward. We are massively looking forward to the matches next weekend in Crawley, not only do we get our first game down near London we get to test out what crowd we can gather there, I’m hoping they are as loud as the Spanish crowd was which made for a great atmosphere to play in. It is important that the two matches in Crawley against Romania have become must-win matches, and it is entirely within our own hands to qualify for the Final Four in Guadalajara in July”.
Haldane returns to the GB squad this weekend which will not be welcome news for a Romanian side which has lost only once so far, a tight five-set affair with Slovakia. GB head coach Harry Brokking knows his team now has a platform on which to build after showing they can win on the road. The fact his team have turned defeats into victories in the space of 24 hours (and also had a remarkable turnaround against Azerbaijan in the first round of the CEV European Championship this past May) is a credit to him and his coaching staff.
“I am very happy with the result and of course it keeps us in the race for the Final Four," he said after Saturday's win in Spain. "There was a lot of tension in the players after the loss in the first match, so it was a good win, with better serving and blocking than the day before. I am very much looking forward to Saturday's televised match against the group leaders Romania at the K2 in Crawley at 3.00pm and hope that we can get good support to help us go forward. We will be very much concentrating on the first game”.

Click here for a detailed schedule of the 2010 CEV European League

Spanish team for matches against Slovakia:

7 - Guillermo Hernán, 19 - Miguel Ángel De Amo
13 - Juan Carlos Barcala, 2 - Ibán Pérez
21 - José Javier Subiela, 14 - Jorge Fernández, 8 - Alberto Salas
4 - Manuel Sevillano, 5 - Fran Rodríguez, 6 - Sergio Noda, 18 - Mario Ferrera
12 - Frances Llenas

Time to "A" team.

Stats Photos
St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, June 18, 2010. Portugal maintains the right pace in Pool B of the 2010 CEV European League after having scored the fifth victory in a row tonight against Austria in St. Anton am Arlberg (25-21, 25-19, 25-14).
The Austrians enjoyed actually a pretty good start and even though the Portuguese national team put them under pressure with their very strong serves, the hosts kept up and tied the score at 10. After a few blocks of the Portuguese though, the Austrians fell behind with 13:16. The Portuguese national team even built out their lead up to 19:14, but then the Austrians fought back. With a couple of strong serves and attacks they caught up and put the Portuguese team under pressure, being behind only by two points at 21:23. Despite their strong efforts, the Austrians were defeated in the first set and lost it 21-25. The second set started out very even. At the score of 8:8 the Portuguese national team was able to build up a 3-point lead with a couple of blocks. From then on the Portuguese team held the lead and won the set 25-19. In the third set the Portuguese team had a very strong start and built up a 7-point lead at 9:2. The Austrians had trouble finding their game due to the strong Portuguese serves and blocks. In the end the leaders of Pool B clearly won the set 25-14. Top scorers of the match were Schneider (12) and Frühbauer (7) for Austria; Cruz (15), Sequeira (10) and Ferreira (7) for Portugal.
Michael Warm, head coach of the Austrians, commented after the match: “The game today showed our current ranking in Europe. Some of the players might have underestimated the situation and were surprised by the Portuguese national team. On Saturday we have to try to improve the simple techniques with discipline”.
Daniel Gavan, captain of Austria, added: “Compared to the Portuguese team, we made no pressure at all with our serves. Furthermore we lacked emotions. We have to react fast to this defeat, make fewer mistakes and improve our game tomorrow”.
Juan Diaz, head coach of Portugal, stated: “I'm very satisfied with our performance. We accomplished everything that we had planned for this game and were well prepared. With our strong serves we kept up our goal to make pressure on the Austrians and force them to make mistakes. On the whole I can say that we had control of the game all the time and won the match without too many ups and downs”.
Jose Joao, captain of Portugal, concluded: “We played well constantly and didn't let the Austrians get too powerful. The Austrian team can be very dangerous when you let them grow, but we were able to control the game. Especially in the third set we were able to stay focused all the time and controlled the game with a lot of pressure on our serve and side-out game”.

Stats Photos
Turkey’s men’s team spoiled the party for the Greek fans that came to the “Dimitris Tofalos” sports hall to watch the double clash between Greece and the neighboring country in the 2010 CEV European League. After the victory for the girls of Caprara, it was Turkey’s turn to celebrate the win in Pool B of the men’s competition with a 3:0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-22). The visiting team proved to be more stable and was better in serving (6 aces for 1) and blocking (12 blocks for 7). The two teams will meet again on Saturday.
In the 1st set Greece managed to overcome a “handicap” of several points (suggestively, 15:19, 17:20, 19:21, 20:21, 20:23) to bring even with 23:23. In the end it was Turkey who managed to gain the next two points and lead with 1-0. In the second set, the teams were very close until the final points but many mistakes from the side of the home team gave away the set. Almost identical was the 3rd set, with Turkey being more determined in the final points. “Nothing went well. I’m impressed by the fact that my team gives everything in training but we don’t see it in the court. We knew that Turkey doesn’t make easy mistakes so we tried to pressure them with our service but surprisingly, it was us who made the mistakes” said Gordon Mayforth, head coach of Greece.
His colleague, Veljko Basic commented: “We were good but not that stable. So was Greece. I know tomorrow things will be different”. Both coaches agreed that the games in September for the qualification to the final round of the 2011 CEV European Championship “will be very different. It’s too early to say anything”.
Serhat Coskun scored the last point of the game and 15 more, and was the top scorer for Turkey. In Greece’s case that was the captain, Nikos Roumeliotis with 12.
The latter said after the game: “Nothing went well today for our team. Turkey played better than us. It could be one of the worse games we played with this composition”.

The guys of Gordon Mayforth managed to reverse Friday’s negative appearance at the “Dimitris Tofalos” sports hall. They even achieved to return in the game during the first set, when they were struggling behind by 8 (16:8) and 7 points (18:11). Greece broke even (22:22) and with two block points from Petreas snatched the first set. It was obvious that the Greek players were looking for revenge for Friday’s defeat and got it in the end since they proved to be more stable.
“It’s the first time I play against coach Basic and I’m trying to build a good relationship with him since we are going to be seeing each other much over the next period of time” joked Gordon Mayforth. “We are trying to combine youth and experience” he concluded. “We are trying to do the same thing” agreed Veljko Basic, who added: “When Greece pressured us from the service line and the block, we couldn’t respond”.
“We showed some good team work and that led us to victory” said Akis Aspiotis. Sinan Cem Tanik, Turkey’s captain who had his birthday on Saturday, commented about the home and away qualification matches for the 2011 European Championship: “These games where a good rehearsal but for sure the conditions will be different then”.
For the Greek team, Fragkos and Roumeliotis scored 11 points each the same as Coskun for Turkey.

Stats Photos

St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, June 19, 2010. In the second game of the 2010 CEV European League in St. Anton, Austria took a set to the still undefeated Portuguese team before eventually losing the match 1:3 (22-25, 25-20, 15-25, 17-25).
The Austrians started the match pretty well. Despite a few mistakes in their serves they held the lead at 8:7 for the first mandatory break. Just like in yesterday's game, the Portuguese national team put the Austrians under pressure with their serves, were able to catch up and take over a 3-point lead at 17:14. The guests held up this lead until the end and won the first set 25-23. Despite their defeat, the Austrians had a good start into the second set. With a very strong blocking performance the Austrians were able to take a five-point lead going into the first technical time-out. At this point the young team of head coach Michael Warm had seemed to have lost their restraint and was able to play more freely. The Portuguese team was struggling with their serves, which had worked so well for them the day before. In the end the Austrians were able to defend their lead and tied the score in sets to 1:1 with a good 25-20. In the third set the Portuguese team had the odds on their side. With an improvement in their serves and blocks they build up a commanding lead of 5 points throughout the set. Towards the end it seemed like the Austrians had lost their focus as they let the Portuguese team pull away and clearly win by 10 points. The fourth set was even up to the score of 8:8 in the first technical time-out. With five points in a row, the guests took over the command. Until the end, the Austrians weren't able to catch up and lost this section of the game 17-25. Top scorers of the match were tonight Zass (19), Schneider (14) and Gavan (8) for Austria, Sequeira (13), Ferreira (9) and Cruz (8) for Portugal.
Michael Warm, head coach of the Austrians, said after the match: “In two sets we clearly played a better Volleyball than yesterday. Considering our level we did a couple of things very well today. After two sets we lost our power, but nevertheless used this weekend to learn a couple of lessons. This was only a small step towards a high mountain we still have to climb”.
Daniel Gavan, captain of Austria, added: “In the beginning our serves were better than yesterday's. In order to win such a game we have to make fewer mistakes and practice a lot next week”.
Juan Diaz, head coach of Portugal, said: “Today's victory was very important for my team. In the second set we relaxed too much and had left the game mentally. The Austrians played well and made no easy mistakes. I'm very glad that we won this game as this brings us a step closer to our goal of reaching the final four”.
Jose Joao, captain of Portugal, concluded: “We had some trouble keeping our focus today. The Austrians played better in the second set and we made too many easy mistakes, having lost our level of concentration. It was difficult for us to come back, but winning the third set was the key for today's match”.

Results
Austria vs. Portugal 1:3 (22-25, 25-20, 15-25, 17-25)

Stats Photos

Crawley, Great Britain, June 19, 2010. Great Britain turned up the heat at the top of Pool A of the 2010 CEV European League with a come-from-behind win over Romania at the K2 Crawley (21-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16). If Jason Haldane caught the eye with a hugely influential match, GB did not have a failure and they can take control of the group if they can repeat the victory on Sunday.
In a tight start to the match, Romania led 8:6 at the first technical time-out after Mark Plotyczer was too long with his service. Some strong serving from Haldane kept GB in tough but a couple of astute plays on the second ball attack from setter Cristian Bartha gave Romania two invaluable points at key points in the set. Harry Brokking replaced starting setter Kieran O’Malley with captain Ben Pipes at 9:13 but some power hitting from Cristian Chitigoi kept the pressure on the GB defense. Brokking was forced into a time-out after Andy Pink was denied by a huge block from Dragos Pavel but Andrei Laza served a clean ace on the next point to take Romania to 19:13 and within sight of closing out the set. Haldane was then blocked by Romanian captain Radu Began as GB trailed by seven points but the home team closed the gap at the end of the set, prompting Stelian Moculescu to take his first time-out as his team led by just three points (22:19). GB closed to within two points at 21:23 when Chitigoi’s hit was long but he recovered to wipe the next point off the block and give Romania their first set point. Mark Plotyczer then put too much power on his spike from four and Romania took the set 25-21.
GB hit Romania hard at the start of the second set and led 6:3 after a rotation error by their opponents, a point Romania disputed. But a superb hit from the back court by Plotyczer kept GB’s advantage as they led 8:4 at the fist technical time-out. Romania kept coming back and won the next three points to close the gap, Dan Borota narrowing it to 8:7 with an ace service into the corner. Plotyczer and Haldane were both proving formidable weapons but Romania managed to level at 10:10 with Pavel finding some success hitting through four. But Haldane then put away two points and some strong serving from Plotyczer stretched GB from 15:13 to 19:13 before a hitting error from Haldane gave Romania a point. Brokking’s side stepped it up towards the end of the set - Haldane smacking another explosive hit off the floor and Mark McGivern contributing a block to take it to 22:16 and force a Romania time-out. There were a couple of anxious moments - Haldane serving into the net and McGivern marginally out with a hit through the middle - but Haldane then brought up set point with another unstoppable hit and a block by Pipes won the set 25-18.
Haldane, who missed the previous week’s trip to Spain due to injury, was immense for GB and contributed the first three points for his team at the start of the third set. But Romania kept in touch. An imaginative tip over the block from Pavel kept the gap to one point but Nathan Bennett blasted through the middle on the short set from Pipes before Plotyczer gave GB an 8:6 lead at the technical time-out. Another great block by Pipes on Pavel took GB to 13:8 and forced another Romanian time-out but Nathan French turned up the heat with a brilliant hit off the block. Haldane then put pressure on the Romanian first pass with another terrific serve to put his team 15:8 ahead.
GB had control of the set and mixed up their attack to keep Romania guessing. McGivern was having increasing success through the middle and Bennett then blocked Andrei Laza through the middle to give them set point. The home crowd thought Haldane had clinched it with a crosscourt hit but it was inches out but Plotyczer removed any doubt as he produced the final point with a tip over the block as GB took the set 25-18.
GB kept their focus at the start of the fourth set with McGivern producing an early block and the Pipes-Bennett combination working well. It was a towering block by the influential Bennett that took GB to 8:4 at the time-out. GB had kept Chitigoi quiet for long spells but he served a reminder that he was still around with a great crosscourt hit but it was not enough as GB led 16:10, Plotyczer showing the spirit after being blocked on his first hit in the rally, recovered to make his next attack count. Dami Bakare came on and immediately made his reach count to take GB onto 21:12 as Romania took another time-out to try and salvage an increasingly desperate situation. There was no way back when Chitigoi served into the net to give GB match point and Pipes played the captain’s part as he produced the clinching point to block out Pavel.
GB captain Pipes said: “We started slowly but we realized how important these games are. Once we relaxed a bit and did the job we were told to do, we eased our way in and took control.
What you see from the team is that Harry can dip into a pool of players not only on the bench but there were three other guys in the crowd who want to be part of the unit. That’s something that’s not seen by the public but over the last few weeks we’ve come to a point where we can be in the Final Four. But there‘s no time to celebrate, tomorrow‘s another day”.
Coach Brokking added: “The changes helped us. Nathan French stabilized our service reception and Ben Pipes gave us better setting options and more stable blocking. We are still going step by step but we’ve been making huge steps over the last three years. We were in the cellar of Volleyball and it was a long time before we could see the light. We’re now on the second floor but there is still a long way to go and hopefully we can get the budget to take us to the next level”.
Romanian coach Moculescu said he did not know what to expect from his team in the second game: “The British team played well. We have a problem with this team that if it doesn’t run, it collapses and that is our biggest problem”. Romanian captain Radu Began: “It’s difficult to say too much. It’s hard to win when you’re asleep - we must wake up tomorrow and play better. If we do that, we have the chance to win”.

Results
Men
Great Britain vs. Romania 3:1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-16)

Stats Photos

RESULTS A POOL

Great Britain-Romania 2-3 (25-23,15-25,21-25,25-22,10-15)
Slovakia-Spain 0-3 (24-26,23-25,24-26)

RANKING A POOL

RANK TEAM POINTS MATCHES
1 Romania 10 6 (4-2)
2 Great Britain 9 6 (3-3)
3 Spain 9 6 (3-3)
4 Slovakia 8 6 (2-4)

RESULTS B POOL

Greece-Turkey 0-3 (23-25,23-25,22-25)
Greece-Turkey 3-0 (25-22,25-29,25-23)
Austria-Porugal 0-3 (21-25,19-25,14-25)
Austria-Porugal 1-3 (22-25,25-20,15-25,17-25)

RANKING A POOL

1.Portugal 12 (6-0)
2.Turkey 9 (3-3)
3.Greece 8 (2-4)
4.Austria 7 (1-5)

Romania overturns defeat against GB to top the standings in Pool A

European League - Men & Women

Crawley, Great Britain, June 20, 2010. Romania overturned
their defeat in the opening match to Great Britain at the K2 in Crawley
to go back to the top of Pool A in the 2010 CEV European League after a
thrilling five-set match (2:3, 25-23, 15-25, 21-25, 25-22, 10-15). GB
came back from 2:1 down to force the match to a final set but Romania
took an early lead in the decisive set and was never behind.

Romania started strongly and put pressure on the GB serve-receive. Radu
Began produced a big early block on Mark McGivern through the middle
and, when Jason Haldane, sent successive attacks long, coach Harry
Brokking took his first time-out at 2:5. Romania surged to an 8:5 lead
at the technical time-out after Cristian Chitigoi found the floor in the
GB back court. GB who trailed 6:10 closed it to within one point after
Chitigoi was blocked in successive points, firstly by Haldane and then
by Nathan French. But Chitigoi improvised well - tipping one over the GB
block before slamming the ball into the floor crosscourt as Romania
moved to 13:9, at which point Brokking gathered his players together
again. The time-out worked as GB won the next three points as Romania
were forced into their first time-out only for Chitigoi who hit the ball
off the net cord and out of court as the scores were leveled 13:13. GB
put together six unanswered points to lead 15:13 before Andrei Laza
pulled a point back for Romania through the middle. Brokking’s boys
established a 24:20 lead but could not shake off Romania who saved three
set points and threatened to salvage the set. But Mark Plotyczer eased
home concerns with a power hit through position four to give GB the set
25-23.

Romania sped to a 5:1 lead in the second set with Laurentiu Lica serving
an ace and Brokking called his first time-out of the second set.
Haldane was finding some success on the outside but Romania kept ahead
with Laza coming up with a terrific stuff block on the former Canadian
international. Chitigoi remained Romania’s main hitting threat and
Brokking had to call another time-out at 13:18 before Nathan Bennett
pulled a point back through the middle. The Romanian block was standing
up well as they held onto their five-point lead before Haldane pierced
the block to pull a point back for GB. But Romania had control of the
set and Chitigoi blocked out Haldane before captain Began snuffed out
Andy Benson through the middle as Romania moved to 21:15. GB made
changes with Kieran O’Malley and Dami Bakare coming on late in the set
but the momentum was with Romania and Chitigoi brought them to set point
with a hit off the block before Bakare hit carelessly out to end the
set 25-15 to Romania.

GB came back at the start of a tight third set and edged ahead 8:6 at
the first technical time-out after a terrific pick-up by libero Dan
Hunter kept the rally alive and French powered home the point through
the middle. But Romania hit back to lead 10:8 after Laza wiped one off
the block and Dan Borota somehow squeezed a point down the line. Laza
was a towering presence for Romania in the block as they moved to and he
made his presence felt again to stifle Plotyczer as Romania led by four
points, 14:10. GB could not find their rhythm as Romania kept up the
pressure to lead 16:12 at the second technical time-out. GB hit back to
lead 17:16 but the set swung again to Romania as they led 20:18. Lica
managed to defend one attack from Haldane with his foot but French then
finished the rally off with an unstoppable spike. There was controversy
at the end of the set as the GB players left Borota’s serve convinced it
was long but the ball was given in. Coach Brokking put his glasses on
to stare in disbelief at the line in an ironic gesture and was shown a
yellow card by the referee. It was a critical point and although GB
managed to save one set point, Borota put away the second set point as
Romania took it 25-21.

GB did not dwell on the matter and looked strong at the start of the
fourth set as they moved from 4:4 to 8:4 with French, Haldane and then
Plotyczer finding the gaps after Chitigoi had served out to give them
the lead. GB blocked more solidly and McGivern proved a potent threat
through the middle as the home side led 12:6 before a couple of serving
errors gave Romania hope. The left-handed Lica brought Romania to within
a point and then served a clean ace to level the scores at 13:13 before
French hammered home another point for GB. French was rising to the
occasion for GB as they led 17:14 and it was 19:15 when McGivern and Ben
Pipes combined to block out Borota and prompt a Romanian time-out.
McGivern made another great block on Laza but French was then just an
inch long with a service and Romania took advantage to close it to one
point 20:19 before Haldane put away another point off the block. GB led
23:20 after Chitigoi hit into the net and coach Stelian Moculescu called
another time-out. Some power serving from Laza had GB in trouble but
Haldane eased the strain again before a huge block by the inspirational
French on Chitigoi gave the home team the set 25-22.

The teams traded point for point at the start of the final set but
Romania led 8:5 before GB closed to within one point on three separate
occasions. Lica started to make his mark but Romania almost paid the
price when Laza and then Lica served into the net but Romania took a
grip at the end. The referee over-ruled his line judge when he indicated
a French spike had taken a touch before going out and that gave Romania
match point which they took at the first time of asking, winning the
set 15-10.

Romanian coach Moculescu said after the match: “My team showed me
another face. The attitude of the team was the difference - they played
Volleyball today and didn’t watch Volleyball like they did yesterday.
Sometimes we need a little luck but that comes if you have a good
attitude”.

His captain Began added: “Today we played better and started the first
set very well but not enough. We lost the first set but came back. We
learned from the first match and the mistakes we made and we served very
well. We feel good after the game but there is still a long way to go
in the competition”.

GB coach Brokking stated: “I’m very disappointed as we had the chance to
stay in first place in our group. We saw a different Romania but we
also saw a different GB team - they deserved to win and we did not play
well enough. That’s the bottom-line”.

Captain Pipes concluded: “It’s a cheap excuse to say Romania played
better but that’s what happened. We lacked the control we had in the
first match. The first set was slow and nothing to set the world alight
from ourselves but we had control but we couldn’t keep that. It was a
weak performance from ourselves”.

Results

Men

Great Britain vs. Romania 2:3 (25-23, 15-25, 21-25, 25-22, 10-15)

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Spain claims second victory in Levice

2010 CEV European League - Men

Levice, Slovakia, June 20, 2010. Spain finished the trip to
Slovakia with two wins. The team of head coach Julio Velasco won also
the second game in Levice 3:0 (26-24, 25-23, 26-24).

Spain led 5:3 in the opening of the first set, but Slovakia came back
and when Lukas Divis was in the serve area, the score moved suddenly to
6:5 for the home team. Later spiker Noda hit an ace and the score was
10:8 for Spain. The guests held the narrow lead until 13:11, but then
again Divis served very well, opposite Bencz spiked twice very hard and
Slovakia led 15:13. Spain collected four points in a row to speed up to
17:15. Slovakia tried to come back, but Spain received well and hold the
narrow lead. Bencz served twice very good and Slovakia turned the score
to 22:21. The final section of the opening set was really dramatic but
Spain ultimately prevailed 26-24.

Slovakia started well in the second set. Bomber spiker Sopko hit an ace
and the score was 4:1 for the home guys. But Spain came back when spiker
Noda was in the serve area and suddenly it was 7:6 for the guests. When
Slovakian setter Holly and later blocker Piovarci hit an ace the home
team led 14:11. The score was 16:13 for Slovakia at the second technical
time-out. Later the home team led 22:16, but Spain closed to 22:21 when
middle blocker Salas was in the serve area. Slovakia turned to 23:21,
but finally the second set went to Spain 25-23.

Slovakia did not surrender and when Sopko hit an ace, the score was 5:1
for the home team in the opening of the third set. Spain closed to 5:4,
but Slovakia led 8:5 at the first technical time-out. Later Slovakia
moved the score to 14:10, but made a couple of mistakes in reception and
attack and Spain closed to 14:13 and when opposite Pérez hit an ace was
the score was leveled at 15. Later Slovakia led 18:16, but made three
unforced errors and it was suddenly 20:18 for Spain. Slovakia hit back,
Hukel made a nice block and the score was 23:23. Finally Spain won the
third set 26:24 and collected its second win in Levice.

Emanuele Zanini, head coach of Slovakia, said after the game: "It was
another match like yesterday. We lost 3:0, but every set was close. We
had a big advantage in the second set, but we destroyed the lead 21:15
for our responsibility. It was a big opportunity to win the set. We made
a lot of mistakes in important moments and for this reason I am not
satisfied. When we started the European League we declared that we
wanted to try to obtain our best, but the main goal is to give
experience to some players. We are working not just for the European
League, but also for the next season”.

Julio Velasco, head coach Spain, added: "For us it was important to win
the second and third set, because we were down 22:17 and then 5:1 in the
third. Our players always played as a team. We didn´t give up and this
was important. I am satisfied. We will play against Slovakia next week
at home and I will do some changes in the team. Garcia Torres and
Palharini will come back to the team”.

Results

Slovakia vs. Spain 0:3 (24-26, 23-25, 24-26)

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Schedule for pool a
Schedule for pool b

25.6.10

Romania-Great Britain

26.6.10

Spain-Slovakia

Romania-Great Britain

Turkey-Greece

Porugal-Austria

27.6.10

Spain-Slovakia

Turkey-Greece

Porugal-Austria

blocks

1.Portugal 71
-.Great Britain 71
3.Romania 61
4.Greece 59
5.Turkey 57
6.Spain 45
-.Slovakia 45
8.Austria 36

HI!

best scorers pool a

1.BENCZ,Milan 104 (SVK)
2.PLOTYCZER,Mark 89 (GBR)
3.LICA,Laurentiu 81 (ROU)
4.RUIZ,Francisco José 77 (ESP)
5.SOPKO,Martin (SVK) 64
-.CHITIGOI,Cristian (ROU) 64
7.HALDANE,Jason (GBR) 63
8.BOROTA,Dan (ROU) 62
9.NODA,Sergio (ESP) 59
10.DIVIS,Lukas, Sr (SVK) 58