Eurovolley Pool D: second victory for hosts Netherlands, Montenegro write history!

The Netherlands National Team recorded their second victory at the 2019 CEV European Volleyball Championship, which they co-host with three more countries. After beating debutants Montenegro, yesterday, they downed Ukraine today in straight sets as well, but not so easy as in their opener. The Dutch team took the first two set with a point difference, partially it was 28:26, 29:27 and 25:21. Actually, both the Netherlands and Ukraine had their chances to win each of the first two sets, dropping a couple of set points before the hosts prevailed, giving joy to 3,500 fans at the Ahoy Sport & Exhibition Centre in Rotterdam. Nimir Abdel-Aziz was the top scorer of the match with 21 points, including 4 aces, while Michael Parkinson added 4 winning blocks. Oleh Plotnytskyi made 13 points for Ukraine.

—PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH AVAIBLE—

Montenegro have scored the first ever victory at the European Championship. They were even the underdogs against Estonia, however they managed to beat them in straight sets playing a very amazing match. Marko Bojic will be remembered as the player who was the top scorer in the first win of his national team at the EuroVolley: he ended the match with 18 points.

Reactions:
Nikola Lakcevic – Libero of Montenegro
“I cannot describe how happy I am. Especially after yesterday’s game, which was a really difficult loss. We played a really good game today. We beat Estonia 3-0 who was one of the favourites of the pool. I am so happy I cannot describe it.”

—PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH AVAIBLE—

2019 CEV European Volleyball Championship, pool stage – Day 3:

POOL A (Montpellier, France)
Greece – France 0-3 (14:25, 18:25, 24:26)
Bulgaria – Portugal 3-1 (25:23, 28:30, 25:23, 25:22)

POOL B (Brussels & Antwerp, Belgium)
Germany – Belgium 2-3 (23:25, 17:25, 25:22, 25:15, 13:15)
Slovakia – Austria 3-1 (19:25, 25:20, 25:21, 25:15)

POOL C (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
North Macedonia – Russia 0-3 (15:25, 16:25, 28:30)
Slovenia – Finland 3-1 (25:18, 26:24, 24:26, 25:15)

POOL D (Rotterdam & Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
Ukraine – Netherlands 0-3 (26:28, 27:29, 21:25)
Estonia – Montenegro 0-3 (23:25, 28:30, 23:25)

Source: CEV, Photos: randomvolley.com