Eurovolley Pool D: Ukraine record first win after 22 years, Estonia steal one set from Poland, and Netherlands victorious

In Pool D in Rotterdam and Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Ukraine caused a little upset by defeating Czech Republic in four sets (25:21, 25:19, 19:25, 25:22). This was Ukraine’s first victory at the European Championship since 1997, while their last participation prior to this one came in 2005 when they lost all five matches. Opposite hitter Dmytro Viietskyi pushed Ukraine to a victory with 23 points, while Yurii Semeniuk set up 5 winning blocks. The libero Horden Brova made 80% reception (33% excellent, 15 digs), while Jan Hadrava scored 16 points for Czech Republic.

—PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH AVAIBLE—

Poland have opened the EuroVolley 2019 with a 3-1 victory, playing the game without their world star Wilfredo Leon. He spent the whole time at the bench, while his teammates needed four sets to defeat Estonia (25:22, 25:27, 25:22, 25:17). Artur Szalpuk was the top scorer for the world champions with 23 points, while Dawid Konarski also contributed with 17 points. Robert Taht was the top scorer on the other side with 13 points.

—PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH AVAIBLE—

The closing match of the first EuroVolley day in Rotterdam Ahoy was an ace show of the home team, with Nimir Abdelaziz in the lead. The captain of the Netherlands scored 27 points in a match lasted only 65 minutes: thirteen spikes, five blocks, and nine aces. The Netherlands executed a relatively easy victory against Montenegro, who were playing in this competition for the first time. The Netherlands were the only team to win in straight sets in the first day of play in this Pool! (25:19, 25:17, 25:15). Outside Hitter Marko Bojic was the top scorer for Montenegro with 11 points.

—PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH AVAIBLE—

2019 CEV European Volleyball Championship, pool stage – Day 2:

POOL A (Montpellier, France)
Bulgaria – Romania 3-0 (28:26, 25:20, 25:20)
Italy – Greece 3-1 (17:25, 25:23, 25:19, 25:18)

POOL B (Brussels & Antwerp, Belgium)
Serbia – Germany 3-0 (25:21, 25:17, 25:15)
Slovakia – Spain 3-2 (25:23, 25:23, 20:25, 16:25, 18:16)
Belgium – Austria 3-0 (25:17, 25:23, 25:17)

POOL C (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
North Macedonia – Turkey 0-3 (20:25, 23:25, 13:25)
Belarus – Russia 1-3 (25:23, 17:25, 22:25, 10:25)

POOL D (Rotterdam & Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
Czech Republic – Ukraine 1-3 (21:25, 19:25, 25:19, 22:25) —GALLERY—
Estonia – Poland 1-3 (22:25, 27:25, 22:25, 17:25) —GALLERY—
Netherlands – Montenegro 3-0 (25:13, 25:17, 25:15) —GALLERY—

Source CEV. Photos: randomvolley.com