CAMPEONATO JUVENIL EUROPEO- SEDE BIELORRUSIA (LINKS EN VIVO)

[Fernando92]

Hoy comenzo el campeonato juvenil europeo, se juega en Bielorrusia
Esta es la página oficial del torneo: http://junior2010.by/en/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Se juega en dos grupos de 5, los dos mejores pasan a las semifinales:


POOL I (Bobruisk)
Germany
Russia
Turkey
Poland
Belgium
The Netherlands

POOL II (Mogilev)
France
Belarus
Bulgaria
Serbia
Spain
Italy

Los links para verlos son:
- http://www.bet-at-home.com/start.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (es necesario registrarse pero no pagar)
- http://www.bwin.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- livescorehunter.com
- el livescore the la CEV: http://www.cev.lu/mmp/online/website/hi ... ex_EN.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Los favoritos para ganar el torneo son: Francia (actual campeon), Serbia (campeon de menores), Bélgica y Rusia

[Fernando92]

The Netherlands and Russia open their campaign on a high note in Bobruisk
2010 CEV Junior European Championship - Men
Bobruisk, Belarus, August 28, 2010. After a few days that were necessary to complete the preparations on site, the final round of the 2010 CEV Junior European Championship eventually got started this afternoon in Bobruisk with two out of three matches on schedule ending in straight sets. With Russia and Poland having re-affirmed their role as pre-favorite of this Pool against Belgium and Turkey respectively, the young Dutch guys around 1996 Olympic champion Ron Zwerver caused in a way the first major upset of the tournament as they totally outclassed a German team whose overall performance was significantly hampered by a shaky reception and many unforced errors. On the other hand, after having enjoyed a comfortable lead, Poland lost the right momentum and concentration to prevail only in the tie-break after two extremely poor sets.

Click here for additional information, including detailed results and statistics

Click here for a picture gallery

Germany vs. The Netherlands 0:3 (21-25, 22-25, 20-25)

2008 silver medalist Germany opened the very first major Volleyball competition being organized in the Republic of Belarus taking on the young and very motivated “orange” guys led by former Olympic and European champion Ron Zwerver. Both teams had previously expressed their enthusiasm to play in such a fantastic and impressive venue as the “Bobruisk Arena” and did enjoy also a “daring” version of their respective national anthems being played live by a local orchestra. The Netherlands got off to a flying start and led comfortably all the way through – working very well at the net, especially with their block - but Germany fought back bravely to divert three set balls in a row and to force coach Zwerver into a time-out at 24:20. The Germans could score one more rally but Dutch captain Sjoerd Hoogendoorn finally stopped that dangerous comeback and the first set ultimately went to Holland 25-21. The Dutch team was considered a sort of outsider coming into this European Championship since the “Oranjes” had booked their ticket to Belarus only via a third round qualifier played this past July in Spain, but the work performed by Ron Zwerver seemed to pay off, as Hoogendoorn and his fellows played with good speed and the right confidence also in the second set (8:4 at the first technical break). Setter Nimir Abdel-Aziz did continuously vary his offensive solutions and even though the score stayed much closer than in the first set, the Dutch domination was never to be questioned and a couple of mistakes of Germany’s Georg Klein paved the way for the 2:0 that came after a beautiful crosscourt of Thijs ter Horst. Even though they were aware that this way a key match on their quest to advance to the semifinals from such a demanding Pool, the Germans could not find the name of the game this afternoon in Bobruisk and their overall poor performance was harmed by a flurry of unforced errors, including also some net faults. The Dutch, on the other hand, were definitely on the right mood: they defended with great efficiency, forcing their opponents to attack several times to score a single rally, and their block was a regular feature also in the third set (16:10). The happy end was there to come and match winner was ter Horst – best scorer with 15 points - with another crosscourt from the right wing. “That was quite a surprise to me” said a happy Ron Zwerver after the match, “since we had lost all of our previous matches with Germany. Our block-defense system worked really well and the guys got also the right confidence during the match. In comparison with last year they have significantly improved, not only technically, but also mentally. In two days we have to play Russia, and this will be quite a demanding task”. “Our guys were really nervous this afternoon” says German team manager Gerd Westphal. “It was their debut and they paid the price for that”.

Russia vs. Belgium 3:0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21)

A physically – as usual - imposing Russian team played an ambitious Belgian squad this afternoon at the “Bobruisk Arena” before quite a remarkable audience that was definitely and openly supporting the guys from the neighboring “brother nation”. The first set immediately set the tone for what was going to be an impressive exhibition of strength from both sides, as the spikers did never hold back and always attacked with full power. The score stood pretty tight but right before the second technical break Russia claimed a reassuring margin that was eventually maintained up to the end (25-20).
The guys around coach Sergey Shlyapnikov called for the first technical break at 8:6 in the second set after libero Alexey Kabeshov succeeded in saving the ball by sweeping one of the banners away, hence terrifying the young moppers that were sitting right there waiting for their next turn. Russia stretched the lead up to 15:10 with a series of very good and quick combinations in attack, while the Belgians were struggling with their reception and could not successfully complete their side-outs. The Russians delighted the audience right before the second technical time-out as setter Kovalev and Igor Filippov completed a fast attack whose speed was absolutely astonishing, especially at that age. Belgian coach Steven Vanmedegael – the youngest among all those mentoring the teams participating in this Championship – asked for a break at 20:15 and with a couple of substitutions his guys could reduce the gap a bit (21:19), with Ivan Nikishin leaving the court after a couple of ugly receptions his coach was certainly not happy with. However, the Belgians could not complete their comeback as they found in Oleg Tsentalovich a fantastic attacker (he scored three of the last few points in this set) to contend with and Russia moved the count to 2:0.
Belgium started the third set without Anshel Vereecke who had injured his ankle during the last rally of the previous set and even though they could perform pretty well, still Russia displayed the consistency necessary to avoid any additional risk and prolongation of the game. The match was over after less than 90 minutes as Jens Christiaens served directly into the net for the final 25-21; after this splendid and flawless performance there is no doubt that Russia is once again a serious contender for the medals here at the 2010 Junior European Championship.

Turkey vs. Poland 2:3 (20-25, 12-25, 25-20, 25-16,10-15)

The first competition day here in Bobruisk came to a close with another pre-favorite of the tournament, Poland, taking on Turkey, a team that definitely impressed pretty much this past April as it had comfortably sailed through the second round qualifier staged in Portugal. The Turks started pretty well, but had to contend with a very well organized Polish team whose strength certainly derives also from having been on a permanent training camp for the past season, with the only exception being captain Mateusz Mika, who is already included in the roster of one of Poland’s strongest teams, Asseco Resovia RZESZOW. And if you have a look at their way of playing, you definitely have the impression that these guys have been acquiring the right mix and team spirit. Poland claimed the opening set 25-20 and their dominance appeared even more evident in the second, as they immediately widened the gap (16:8) to show off their outstanding potential. The last section of the second set was marked by a flurry of errors from the serving line but Poland maintained the right momentum with giant Milosz Hebda (208 cm) and the job was quickly done (25-12). The Poles relaxed a little bit too much in the third set and were trailing down by 4 points right before the second technical break (14:10 for Turkey), but they were back on track a few seconds later as they promptly tied at 14 with a couple of good actions and solid blocks. Poland was probably expecting a harder job against the Turks and the concentration was once again suddenly gone: Turkey moved up 24:19 profiting of many Polish attacks falling too long or wide and the provisional count turned into a 2:1 after Adrian Buchowski served directly into the net. The fourth set developed according to the same plot, with Poland being again extremely faulty and Turkey’s spikers being well on fire for a comfortable and quick 25-16. The Poles got finally rid of this black-out as they entered the tie-break with the clear mission to go for the victory. Their lead was actually never in danger and in spite of a fierce resistance from the Turkish side they finally claimed the victory that had looked that easy to grasp after the first couple of sets.

Fuente: http://www.cev.lu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fernando92]

Serbia shocks defending champion France in Mogilev
2010 CEV Junior European Championship - Men
Mogilev, Belarus, August 28, 2010. In what was expected to be the real highlight of the day in Mogilev, Serbia cruised past defending champion France in three straight sets. With such a splendid performance the young Serbians – who had claimed the Youth World Championships last year in Jesolo – did confirm their role as pre-favorites in this Pool. The home guys of Belarus were not that happy with their debut in front of their audience as they lost in four sets to a solid and well motivated Bulgarian team. Spain and Italy battled for five sets before the Spaniards, very much helped by their star Francisco Ruiz, could celebrate a very important victory in their quest for a good rank at the end of this Championship.

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Spain vs. Italy 3:2 (20-25, 25-17, 25-16, 20-25, 18-16)

Spain and Italy played the very first match on schedule in Mogilev. The Spaniards have come to Belarus with very high expectations and they finally won the game after a hard-fought tie-break. Spain opened with the right pace to lead 8:3 at the first technical time-out but Italy turned the score around for the provisional 19:21 some minutes later. Filippo Lanza effectively attacked from the back row for the 22:19 and then extended the gap to 23:19 from the serving line. The Italians closed the first set 25-20 with a successful block. In the second set, Spanish star Francisco Ruiz woke up. He actually scored a total of 20 points during this match. Italian coach Liano Petrelli was forced to take a time-out when the score stood at 5:9, but this did not change the situation. Spain claimed both the second and the third sets with a good margin. The Italians stormed back in the fourth set – after a tie at 15 - with a good performance for Luca Vettori in the serving area and stretched the match to the tie-break. In the fifth and decisive set all attention was focused on Ruiz, who did not only score, but made also a few mistakes. However, he still clipped the last rally of the match for the final 18-16. "We could have closed the match even earlier. I think the victory over the Italians is very important for us. A good start gives us real strength and motivation for the next games” commented Ruiz.

Belarus vs. Bulgaria 1:3 (25-20, 21-25, 18-25, 18-25)

After an excellent start for the hosts of Belarus, Bulgaria could claim its first match of this European Championship in four sets. Nikolay Penchev was the best scorer of the match with 14 points. The opening of the game fully belonged to the Belarusians. The team of coach Ihar Zahortsau kept the advantage and scored many good attacks. Setter Ihar Kazlou did his work very well and the attack of Belarus was extremely effective. Siarhei Miashkou and Vyacheslav Charapovich did their job in reception and paved the way for many counterattacks. All that changed in the second set as the Bulgarians adjusted their actions. They displayed some strong serves and attacks, so they took the initiative. The Belarusians made a lot of mistakes and that affected their play. At the press conference staged after the game the head coach of Belarus said that his team lacked the playing practice and the right preparation for the Championship. "We could have had a chance to win, if we hadn’t made so many mistakes” said the coach. "We had very few information about Belarus. We did not know how to play, so our first game in this tournament was extremely difficult. I am glad that the guys remained calm and believed in the victory” said the coach of Bulgaria Nikolay Jeliazkov. "I hope we will win also our next game. We have not yet reached our peak” added the captain of Bulgaria Borislav Georgiev.

Serbia vs. France 3:0 (25-18, 31-29, 25-20)

The first competition day in Mogilev ended with a splendid performance of the Serbians against defending champion France. The titleholders were unable to offer some serious resistance to the guys of coach Milan Zarkovic. The team changed a bit compared to the squad that had claimed gold in Brno in 2008. The Serbs, supported by a small group of fans, began the first set with the right rhythm. Excellent attacks allowed them to take an advantage of two or three points, but in the end with their block they significantly widened the gap for the final 25-18.
The second set was more than delightful. Uros Kovacevic and Aleksandar Atanasijevic were the main actors on court for Serbia and contributed to the provisional lead at 18:15. However, due to some errors, there was a tie at 22. The French team played well in blocking to claim the 23:22. But mistakes on both sides kept the audience in real suspence. France had a first set-ball (27:26), but the Serbs did block and then closed it at 31-29.
The frustrated French did not stand the strain and the third set was no longer played at the same level. Atanasijevic and Kovacevic continuously attacked and even started interacting with the spectators. Atanasijevic always appealed to the tribunes and to his fans who loudly supported the young Serbians in their quest for the final 3:0.

Fuente: http://www.cev.lu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Estados dos notas corresponden al primer día de competición

[medico del voley]

Sorpresassssss
España le gana Italiaaaaaaaa
Serbia le gana a Francia que es una potencia en voley masculino.
Bueno miramemos mas y veremos ke otras sorpresas aparecen

[Chivol]

Sorpresassssss
España le gana Italiaaaaaaaa
Serbia le gana a Francia que es una potencia en voley masculino.
Bueno miramemos mas y veremos ke otras sorpresas aparecen

Alguna vez España en adulto tuvo un equipo competitivo, con un puntero que se llamaba Rafa Pascual (no estoy seguro) lanzaba cada latigazo...impresionante. Despues nunca mas saco un equipo competitivo en el nivel de los TOP 10.

Espero que esa victoria sea por sus meritos y no por una baja en el nivel de Italia.

[Fernando92]

SEGUNDO DIA DE COMPETICION GRUPO A

Russia ans The Netherlands stretch winning record in Bobruisk
2010 CEV Junior European Championship - Men
Bobruisk, Belarus, August 29, 2010. Russia and Germany definitely delighted the local audience at the majestic “Bobruisk Arena” with a splendid match, marked by continuous turnarounds, that eventually ended at the tie-break in favorite of the guys assembled around stellar spiker Ivan Nikishin who certainly enjoyed also the full support of the Belarusian spectators. The Netherlands continue their impressive run with a spectacular performance – with the only exception being an ugly third set where the “lights” went suddenly off – against Poland, led by their great setter and real play-maker Nimir Abdel-Aziz. Belgium completed the operations for the second competition day cruising past Turkey in three straight sets showing strong nerves and a solid play in very close money times.

Germany vs. Russia 2:3 (21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 11-15)

The second competition day here in Bobruisk started with what looked like a “mission impossible” for 2008 silver medalist Germany against the giant Russians whose show of strength in their debut against Belgium had already set the tone for their high ambitions in this tournament. It was also a kind of revenge for the Russians after Germany had surprisingly claimed a wonderful semifinal match two years ago in Brno, even though the roster of both teams was completely re-shaped to match with the age limit introduced for this Championship. Once again the Russians did enjoy the open and loud support of the local audience here in Bobruisk, which is not a real wonder since the Republic of Belarus is still bound to its neighbor by strong ties that we may associate to the idea of Slavic “brotherhood”. Russia enjoyed a furious start and especially their block worked really well (11:7), but being aware that after their defeat against the Netherlands another weak performance may have definitely hampered their chances to make it to the semifinals, the Germans fought back bravely to tie first at 11 and then at 13. The guys of coach Söhnke Hinz went up for the first time with a winning serve of Simon Hirsch and then also with a crosscourt for the 17:16, but Russia did not agree with that scenario and the great mastery of captain/setter Dmitry Kovalev combined with massive blocks quickly turned the score around (17:20). Even though Germany was able to close the gap by scoring the next two points, Ivan Nikishin made the difference from the back row and set nr 1 was over in about 25 minutes after German captain Benjamin Dollhofer committed a fault in reception. In the second set, with the block being regularly the most killing arrow picked out from their quiver, the Russians took over control of the operations right after the first technical time-out (5:10); however, Germany was still far from being already shut out and two aces of Philipp Jankowski put his team back on the right track (9:10). The much desired tie followed at 13 after Georg Klein won a real battle at the net; Germany was definitely playing with much more confidence and efficiency than yesterday, the score stayed extremely close up to the so-called “money time” where Georg Klein blocked a Russian attack for the 21:20 to force the Russian coach Sergey Shlyapnikov into a time-out. Klein extended his wonderful moment stopping his Russian counterpart for the second time in a few seconds, Paul Sprung stamped an ace and the count moved to 1:1 with a crosscourt of Simon Hirsch. The close battle continued also in the third set where Russia could widen the margin only around the second technical time-out (13:18); Ivan Nikishin was once again the main hammer, displaying a coordination and jumping ability – especially every time he attacked from the back row - that are really remarkable at that young age. However, Germany stormed back (20:21) by fully exploiting a couple of weak receptions for libero Kabeshov and stamping some more blocks that in a way shocked the tall Russian attackers. This comeback was nevertheless not completed as Nikishin was back on fire to reward a loyal audience whose cry “Rossija” continuously accompanied every single action of his fellows, especially during the last decisive rallies. The fourth set followed a different plot, with Germany leading the way for most of the time – even by 3 or 4 points – and Russia lacking consistency. Coach Söhnke Hinz was nevertheless obliged to take a break at 17:16 as his guys were quickly dissipating such a consistent margin; his move paid immediately off with Germany claiming the next four rallies with a great contribution from diagonal spiker Simon Hirsch as well as from Björn Höhne to stay alive in such a great match. The Germans trailed down 3:7 in the tie-break, but they did not lose their hope to go for a major surprise, clawing back to 5:7 before teams changed side; without paying too much attention to the Belarusian spectators – including a bunch of soldiers - that were again openly vowing for the Russians, Philipp Jankowski clipped an ace to make it almost a tie (7:8), which was again the case a couple of minutes later (9:10) as the Russians sent it too long. For the joy of quite a massive audience here in Bobruisk, the fight was over after over hours with a killing Russian triple block; Germany was certainly a bit disappointed, but still took a lot of positives from this game after yesterday’s poor performance against Holland and can still look forward to the next matches with some chances to eventually make it among the best four of the tournament.

The Netherlands vs. Poland 3:1 (25-18, 25-21, 9-25, 25-23)

After their classy debut against Germany, the young and ambitious Dutch guys around 1996 Olympic champion Ron Zwerver were back on court in the “Bobruisk Arena” to play a Polish team that yesterday night did not fully convince after many ups and downs in a long five-setter against Turkey. The “Oranjes”, this time actually playing in dark jerseys, got immediately the right tempo with setter Nimir Abdel-Aziz being extremely solid also in blocking the attacks of the tall Polish spikers and Thijs ter Korst contributing a few points in attack (16:13 at the second technical break). After a disappointing Youth European Championship on home soil last year in Rotterdam, the Dutch squad had significantly improved via the experience of Zwerver and the addition of some players that joined the roster only after the second qualifier held this past spring in Slovakia. On the other hand, Poland – as it was the case yesterday night during the third and fourth sets against Turkey – was extremely faulty, hence additionally helping Holland in clipping the opening set with an attack from the back row of Floris van Rekom (25-18).
The second section of the game was by far more balanced, with the teams regularly exchanging the lead before the Dutch claimed a 2-point lead by the second technical break after an error from the serving line for Adrian Buchowski. The Polish coach was definitely not happy with the performance of his guys and was openly shouting at them a few seconds later as he asked for another break after the Dutch had successfully blocked for the provisional 17:14. They finally woke up to level at 18 but Holland continued to impress with a fast play and its – especially Fabian Dossett - middle blockers being regularly well mastered by Abdel-Aziz. At 21:20, Poland could not complete a side-out and was immediately punished by a crosscourt of Dutch captain Sjoerd Hoogendoorn, with the 2:0 rapidly approaching in the scoreboard. It finally became reality after some more good actions in defense and a splendid direct tip of Aziz.
With their stars Milosz Hebda and Mateusz Wika back on court and in combination with some de-concentration to be clearly perceived among the Dutch team, Poland enjoyed a marvelous start in the third set (11:1); all of a sudden the Polish block looked insurmountable for the Dutch spikers and their attacks were no longer that accurate or precise. Thijs ter Korst left the court for van den Heuvel but that did not help at all and the set was already more than compromised. Poland kept scoring from every single angle of the court and the final whistle was there at an embarrassing 25-9. At this still tender age ups and downs are pretty understandable and the “Oranjes” were back in great shape in the fourth set: the block-defense system was pretty effective, setter Abdel-Aziz could count on all of his spikers and it looked like the Dutch train was rapidly heading towards the second victory in a row at this Championship (13:9). Poland made a last attempt to avoid this scenario with a time-out at 21:17 – after a splendid single block of the Dutch setter – and clawed back up to 23:22 profiting of two “orange” attacks that went long. The Dutch stayed cool even though they missed a first match ball and they needed to attack four times before they silvered their second chance to clip the final 3:1.

Belgium vs. Turkey 3:0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23)

Having both lost their respective opening games yesterday here in Bobruisk, Belgium and Turkey were absolutely forced to clip a victory tonight to stay in contention for a spot among the best four of the Championship. The match was expected to be extremely tight and the first set did definitely stick to the forecasts; Belgium and Turkey battled point for point but after the second technical break the boys around young coach Steven Vanmedegael, with captain Sam Deroo on fire, picked a mini-break that paved the way for a total of four set balls. However, the Turks could divert three in a row for the 24:23 and the Belgian mentor decided to briefly stop the game to possibly avoid a very risky tie. The fourth and last set ball was actually the “golden” one as middle blocker Dries Ilsbroux found the right tempo and coordination with his setter Stijn D’Hulst for an effective fast attack. The game developed according to the same plot also in the second and third sets; Turkey regularly enjoyed the better start, but the Belgians – whose coach and back-up players were always asking for the support of the audience – regularly clawed back and saved their best for the last and most important rallies. The Belgians only felt some pressure as they wanted to close the game as quickly as possible but Sam Deroo did not hesitate to attack with full power to bag two match balls and also scored the final rally with a pipe from the back row.

Fuente http://www.cev.lu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fernando92]

SEGUNDO DIA DE COMPETICION GRUPO B

Serbia cruises past host Belarus after shaky opening set
2010 CEV Junior European Championship - Men
Mogilev, Belarus, August 29, 2010. Serbia maintained a perfect record after the second competition day in Mogilev, but having to cope with a furious start from the hosts of Belarus this afternoon at the “Olimpiets” sports complex. Finally the Serbians cruised past 3:1 and tomorrow will test the likes of a very solid Bulgarian team that shut out Italy in straight sets, with a pretty embarrassing score in the third and final set that ended at 25-13. The daily program was completed by a very much awaited match starring Spain and defending champion France, with the “Bleus” ultimately scoring a 3:1 victory that was somehow helped also by the absence of Spanish star Francisco Ruiz who had fallen sick with some fever.


Bulgaria vs. Italy 3:0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-13)

After the first disappointing day of the tournament, Italy very much wanted to score their first victory in Mogilev. The match against Bulgaria started successfully for the “Azzurri” - 8:5 but they failed to maintain that advantage. In the middle of the first set the Bulgarians caught their opponents - 11:11. The boys of coach Liano Petrelli made many mistakes in receiving and serving. After a tie at 20, middle blocker Ventsislav Trifonov and Ventsislav Ragin performed well for the provisional 22:21. Petrelli took a time-out, but it did not work. It was also not the best day for the Italian captain Filippo Lanza, who made a mistake at the net, and then Italy sent a ball wide for the final 22-25.
In the second set the Bulgarians exploited his weaknesses in reception and in another episode Filippo hit the ball out of the antenna. As a result, he was replaced. The team of coach Zhelyazkov felt that the victory was not so far. Nikolay Penchev ended the second set with a pipe. The last set was an easy task for the Bulgarians. They raised the pace of the game. The Italians continued to make mistakes in reception. Their substitutes were not an effective weapon for Italy, which lost its second game in a row in Mogilev.

Belarus vs. Serbia 1:3 (25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 17-25)

Like in the previous match with Bulgaria, Belarus started fantastically the game with Serbia. Initially, the hosts blocked very well and soon the coach of Serbia, Milan Zarkovic, requested a time-out. But that did not help. At the second technical break the Belarusians enjoyed a margin of four points - 16:12. Excellent spikes were performed by Viacheslau Charapovich, who also contributed the final rally.
The Serbs could not concentrate and trailed down 1:5 also in the second set, but then they were finally able to turn the score around (13:10). After the second technical break Ihar Zahortsau opted for some substitutions. The Belarusians were trying to save the set, but their opponents leveled the count. The main and most dramatic was the third set. The leaders of the Serbian team, Aleksandar Atanasijevic and Uros Kovacevic failed to help their team. Atanasijevic was replaced, and Kovacevic was shaky in reception and his attacks were often wide or blocked. Viachaslau Charapovich was again the main scorer for Belarus. Charapovich claimed an important point from the serving line - 20:17. But after a tie at 20, Ihar Zahortsau was forced to take a time-out, but this time Kovacevic was not sleeping, his spike decided the set. Even though Atanasijevic remained on the bench, the Serbians could cruise past pretty easily in the fourth set that ended at 17-25 for the guests. “This was a repetition of the game with the Bulgarians. We started well, but then a lot of unforced mistakes prevented us from winning” said at the press conference the team captain of Belarus Arthur Drapchinsky. “If the Championship were in another country, we would see another team. But here we are playing with all our hearts. The match with the Serbs is a good lesson for the future” added coach Ihar Zahortsau. “The first set for us was a classic knockout. We did not expect that our opponents could play at such a high level. After such a stroke, we changed our tactics and it worked” concluded Serbian coach Zarkovic.

France vs. Spain 3:1 (14-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21)

A classic Latin derby ended in favor of the defending champions from France. However, Spain played with great confidence in the opening set and held the initiative. Great attacks and a solid reception paved the way to win the first set. French coach Marc Francastel adapted the actions of his guys and the situation on the court changed starting from the second set. The “Bleus” pretty often found some space through the Spanish block. In the third set, after a tie at 14, the French guys played with more and more self-confidence. Nicolas Le Goff and Thibault Bruckert were the key players for the French side in the final fourth set which ended at 25-21 for the titleholders.
“We started very successfully, but in their minds my guys could not believe that they could win against France. Francisco Ruiz was unable to play today. He fell ill, with fever. It's a big loss for us” said Spanish coach Ricardo Maldonado after the game.
"We were afraid of this game. We have not been playing for such a long time with this roster, our actions and skills are not so perfect. So I am very pleased that we scored a victory tonight. Unfortunately we do not have here a player like Earvin Ngapeth (MVP of the previous Championship in Brno) and we pay the price for this” commented French mentor Francastel. In spite of his young age, Ngapeth is already included in the roster of the senior national team that will be competing in late September at the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship in Italy.

Fuente http://www.cev.lu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fernando92]

TERCER DIA DE COMPETICION GRUPO A

Russia's power too much to handle for young "Oranjes"
2010 CEV Junior European Championship - Men
Bobruisk, Belarus, August 30, 2010. The real highlight of the day here in Bobruisk, i.e. the match starring the sole teams still undefeated after two days, did follow quite an unexpected plot, with the “Oranjes” totally dominating the first set before the Russian “bear” finally woke up for a massive display of power and strength to clip the next three without any major difficulty. Physically and athletically already well shaped in comparison with their fellows from other nations competing here in Belarus, the Russians seem to march on a good route that would see them qualify for the semifinals as the best ranked team of Pool I. 2008 silver medalist Germany could finally celebrate the first victory here in Bobruisk cruising past Turkey in four sets, while Poland did emulate its neighbors coming back from one set down with fantastic blocks to defeat a Belgian team that tonight did not fully live up to the initial expectations.

Additional remark: all matches being played in Bobruisk are broadcast live at http://www.bwin.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and not via LAOLA1.tv as previously announced. This applies also to the last matches of the prelims on schedule for Wednesday and Thursday as well as for this weekend’s semifinals and final matches.


Russia vs. The Netherlands 3:1 (14-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-13)

Even on a Monday afternoon – and actually with the pupils still waiting for the school year to start on September 1 - quite many spectators resumed to the splendid “Bobruisk Arena” for the big match of the prelims in Pool I, starring local favorite Russia and the young “Oranjes” assembled around 1996 Olympic champion Ron Zwerver who had performed so well in their opening games against Germany and Poland. Even though the audience was once again openly and loudly supporting the neighboring Russians, the Dutch were not that much impressed, entered the game without any fear and immediately imposed their rhythm, especially via Thijs ter Korst and splendid setter Abdel-Aziz who stood out also from the serving line with an ace that forced Russia into its first time-out (12:7). Holland continued to hit displaying smart and varied combinations to avoid the tall Russian block (21:11), while the men in white jerseys were absolutely awful in reception. Coach Shlyapnikov asked for another break, but it did not help at all; Russia seemed to be not focused at all and the Dutch fully deserved to claim the first set with a wide and even embarrassing margin (25-14). Captain Kovalev & Co. found some more consistency in the second set, leveling the score at 13 and then a block of Ivan Filippov on Dutch captain Hoogendoorn called for a time-out and, at the same time, for the total enthusiasm of the Belarusian public. Russia stretched the lead to 20:14 with Kolesnik in the serving area and a great contribution coming from Ivan Nikishin in attack. Holland was not yet ready to surrender but after having scored a couple of rallies, a decreased efficiency in reception and the return of the Russian spikers to their ordinary power – mainly Safonov – were the main reasons for the provisional 1:1 in the match count. The physically much more imposing Russians took immediately full command of the operations in the third set (8:6), exploiting also some serving errors of the “Oranjes” that were apparently feeling more and more the pressure resulting from such a demanding match. On the other hand, the performance of the Russian receivers was not to be compared to the ugly actions that were to be seen during the first set and coach Zwerver was forced into a time-out (10:6). Russia was pushing it hard also from the serving line, especially with Tsentalovich, and the block was almost insurmountable: as long as Russia performs at its best, there is apparently almost no match with the Netherlands and this section of the game went by pretty quickly, with a net fault of Abdel-Aziz (25-14). The show of strength continued also in the fourth set for the delight of many children who had depicted on their face small Russian flags to openly express their passion for the guys coming from their neighboring country. The final outcome of the game was never in danger: blocking, spiking – especially gargantuan Ivan Filippov - and serving with tremendous energy, the Russians enjoyed a very comfortable lead at the second technical break (16:7) and, after having missed a couple of match balls, they accomplished their mission to maintain the lead in Pool I on a fast attack of Safonov.

Turkey vs. Germany 1:3 (25-19, 22-25, 16-25, 22-25)

Having lost both their previous games, Germany and Turkey were somehow obliged to score a victory this afternoon at the “Bobruisk Arena” to try to stay in contention for a spot among the best four of this Pool. 2008 silver medalist Germany had pushed the Russian powerhouse to the tie-break and it was in a way questionable to see whether the guys had recovered - both physically but especially mentally - from this defeat. The first set was extremely tight but after the second technical break Turkey widened the lead with Ufuk Minici being the most effective attacking force and relevantly contributing to the final 25-19. In his attempt to turn the score around, German coach Söhnke Hinz opted for a completely different line-up in the second set, with Höhne and Jankowski – together with libero Brückner – being the only ones from the starting six remaining on court. Björn Höhne took over the responsibility to head the German comeback as his team was trailing down was once again also in the second set but quite many German attacks were imprecise and that helped move up the score in favor of Turkey (17:14). Germany was finally back on right track, caught up the Turks at 20 with a double block of Klein and Höhne and then even cruised past one rally later to finish the job in great fashion at 25-22.
It looked like the game was developing according to the same pattern that had characterized the previous match on schedule this afternoon. After an awful opening set, Germany kept full control of the operations: with the Turks being pretty faulty, Höhne & Co. could finally display their full potential which was already quite evident in the long marathon against Russia. Coach Hinz stayed with the same line-up also in the fourth set, with Wienand, Marks and Oswald on court; Björn Höhne made once again the difference for Germany, especially right before the second technical time-out, attacking with good efficiency and stamping also two aces in a row for the 16:13. Maybe hoping to see an emotional tie-break, the Belarusian audience was whispering from the stands some support for Turkey and actually the guys around coach Hidayetoglu tied at 18 with a couple of good blocks before a net fault of the German setter, Philipp Jankowski, contributed point nr 19 for the Turks. However Germany kept cool and could celebrate the first victory in this tournament after missing two match balls with Höhne scoring the last point.

Poland vs. Belgium 3:1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-20)

The game starring Poland and Belgium was expected to be an extremely tough and tight battle and that was actually the story that finally was to be seen on court. It was not that easy for both teams to claim or even stretch an always very narrow lead; the score was continuously leveled but Belgium had ultimately the upper hand in an exciting final rush. The Belgians booked a couple of set balls with a big hit for Dries Ilsbroux and even a break asked by the Polish coach at 24:23 could not help divert the second chance for the 1:0 which was silvered by captain Sam Deroo. Poland found the right tempo in the second set, especially via opposite Milosz Hebda, who was extremely effective from the wing, but the overall performance – also in blocking – of the boys in blue jerseys was extremely solid. After having clipped a margin of 4 up to 6 points, the Poles sailed away very comfortably after the second technical time-out and picked this section of the game with real confidence at 25-15 on a Belgian error in attack. With the Belarusian audience having openly opted for Poland, Hebda and his fellows stretched that good pace also into the third set; the block was certainly the main weapon of the Polish team, whereas Belgium’s attacks were getting more and more predictable, so that even Deroo could quite often not find the right way to score with the necessary consistency. He actually received a yellow card from Spanish first referee David Fernandez Fuentes for his protests on an attack that was called out as the scenario looked pretty grey for Belgium. Poland stayed cool and a double block closed the third section of the game 25-17, with Belgium being left some minutes to try to re-organize its play and eventually extend the battle to the tie-break. That appeared to be quite a demanding task as Poland had a flying start (4:1) and the Belgian spikers did commit a flurry of mistakes to ease up even more the operations for Hebda and his friends. Finally the match ended in a 3:1 that left the Belgians much disappointed as they had definitely gone for a victory tonight at the “Bobruisk Arena”.

http://www.cev.lu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fernando92]

TERCER DIA DE COMPETICON GRUPO B

Serbia wins classy five-setter against Bulgaria, Italy stuns defending champions from France
2010 CEV Junior European Championship - Men
Mogilev, Belarus, August 30, 2010. The third competition day in Mogilev did start with an amazing match starring 2009 Youth World champion Serbia and a very ambitious Bulgarian team that delighted the audience as well as CEV Vice President Dr. Jan Hronek who had traveled to the second competition venue of this Championship for a few hours. Finally Serbia could joy for the third straight victory in the tournament but it was not easy at all. It was another sad day for the hosts of Belarus who were shut out 0:3 by the Spaniards of Francisco Ruiz, whose jumping ability is more than impressive. Defending champion France lost 1:3 to Italy and will have a tough task to repeat the feats of the 2008 edition in Brno without its main star Earvin Ngapeth who stayed with the senior team currently preparing for the World Championship.



Serbia vs. Bulgaria 3:2 (25-23, 26-28, 30-32, 25-21, 15-11)

Bulgaria and Serbia, provisional leaders of Pool II, opened the operations this afternoon in Mogilev with a classy match. Bulgaria went up by the second technical break and blocker Ventsislav Ragin contributed the provisional 19:21 with a block. But the Serbs did not surrender and were able to concentrate and win the set (25-23). This was only the beginning of a real battle. The Serbian players tried to consolidate their advantage in the second set. Uros Kovacevic effectively hit the ball in attack and it seemed that the Serbs were going to win this section of the game as well. Atanasijevic brought the 22:19, but the leaders of the Bulgarians performed well in defense, and the setter placed some emphasis on Zhelyazkov who successfully attacked and blocked for a few times. Trifonov leveled at 25 and in the final rush the Serbs lost their balance in reception. The third set was equally hard. The guys of coach Zarkovic went up 19:16, but a time-out helped the Bulgarians level the score. At this moment, a yellow card was given to Uros Kovacevic. This case helped the Bulgarians, especially Trifonov and Zhelyazkov, and after marvelous actions the final rally was sanctioned by an error of Atanasijevic. In the fourth set the Bulgarians lost their concentration. The Serbians completely controlled the game and went for the tie-break. After a short rest Bulgaria moved ahead in the tie-break 7:4, but the remarks of the Serbian coach were effective - 7:7. The finish came when Kovacevic blocked Nikolay Penchev. "It is a very important victory before the day of rest. In the previous two days we already played a hard game and today it was the same. Three wins is a good result, we already feel the semifinal, but we need more focus. Atanasijevic made many mistakes, I hope the rest day will help him” said the head coach of Serbia, Milan Zarkovic.
"The Serbs have more experience, even though the players are of the same age, many opponents have already been playing international tournaments. Therefore, they had some more luck. I'm not upset. In the following days we are waiting for some more big games” said the Bulgarian mentor.

Spain vs. Belarus 3:0 (25-17, 29-27, 25-22)

The hosts played their third match at the European Championship with Spain, who had already claimed a victory on Italy a couple of days ago. The team around coach Ricardo Maldonado tried to rely on a fast play in order to attack successfully. In this match the leader of the Spaniards, Francisco Ruiz, was back on court. Spain fully profited of its ace and also exploited the difficulties of the Belarusians in reception.
In the second set Ihar Zahortsau made a substitution. Barys Chabatarou came to the court. The Belarusians held the leadership at 13:17, but as it had already happened in Mogilev, could not go all the way to the end. A lot of mistakes helped the Spaniards level at 18. In a close finish, Belarus had a set ball at 25:24, but there was a fatal error when the score stood at 27:28, when the hosts failed to coordinate their action in defense. This failure practically put an end to the hope of the Belarusians to score their first victory in front of the home audience. In the last set they could not really compete with the Spaniards. Ruiz was back in full shape and contributed 19 points for the final 3:0.

Italy vs. France 3:1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-14, 25-19)

The third competition day in Mogilev ended with a classical in European Volleyball. Even though they did not shine in their previous matches, still the Italians did want to beat the defending champions from France. The team around coach Liano Petrelli reset completely their minds and played with glowing hearts. The French managed to win only one set. The guys of coach Marc Francastel lacked the right conditioning and the Italians took advantage of this. In the fourth set the French had a chance to stretch the match to the fifth set, but made many mistakes. Maoni Talia gave the coach and a small group of French fans some hope. When the score was 9:9 Talia scored two aces in a row, but Daniele Mazzone did not agree with this scenario and scored immediately for Italy. Opposite Vettori played very well for Italy (for a total of 23 points) as did also Mariano Romolo. The Italians sailed to a reassuring 23:18 and closed it a few seconds later successfully poking the ball under the hands of the French block.

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[Fernando92]

Sorpresassssss
España le gana Italiaaaaaaaa
Serbia le gana a Francia que es una potencia en voley masculino.
Bueno miramemos mas y veremos ke otras sorpresas aparecen

Alguna vez España en adulto tuvo un equipo competitivo, con un puntero que se llamaba Rafa Pascual (no estoy seguro) lanzaba cada latigazo...impresionante. Despues nunca mas saco un equipo competitivo en el nivel de los TOP 10.

Espero que esa victoria sea por sus meritos y no por una baja en el nivel de Italia.

Lo de España no es novedad: España clasificó al mundial de menores realizado en Italia el año pasado y obtuvo el 5to lugar, superando a Francia en la fase de grupo por un 3-0 (Francia fue a ese mundial como campeon europeo, y se ubicó en el puesto 12, fue con el mismo equipo que obtuvo la medalla de oro en Rotterdam, Paises Bajos, ECH 2008). Además España se ha estado preparando para este Europeo con una serie de 5 partidos amistosos contra Argentina (cabe resaltar que Argentina es el "boom" en categorías bases) donde la serie quedó 3-2 a favor de España.

Francia es el actual campeon de menores y juveniles en Europa. El equipo francés ha ido a esta competición con la base del equipo campeon de europa de menores 2008 (en la final vencieron a Serbia por 3-0), y los que asistieron al mundial de Italia 2009, con una leve variación de 5 jugadores, pero siendo la más importante la ausencia de Earvin Ngapeth, electo MVP del Europeo 2008, que no pudo asistir ya que esta entrenando con la selección adulta francesa para el mundial de la categoría. Francia se ha preparado con Alemania para este Europeo, con la serie encontra de 0-3. Entonces eso demuestra que Earvin Ngapeth es practicamente el 30% del ataque francés (al igual como lo es Lise van Hecke en el equipo belga)

Y bueno, Serbia es la actual campeona del mundo, le ganó la final a Irán por un 3-2 el año pasado, y cuenta con varios jugadores jóvenes que han participado en la reciente edición de la World League, siendo el más importante Uros Kovacevic, de tan solo 17 años. Es el candidato a ganar este Europeo, aunque en el otro grupo se encuentra Rusia, que al igual que Serbia, ha ganado todos sus partidos.