Eurovolley2023: 3 points for Serbia and Italy in Pool A. In Pool B, Croatia down Ukraine at tie break. First win for Bulgaria.

CEV Eurovolley 2023 continued today with 4 games in each Pool.

In Pool A in Perugia, Italy, Serbia secured their second victory
by defeating a great Belgium in four sets (25:22, 18:25, 25:20, 25:20).
In the first set, both teams fought fiercely with no side gaining a conspicuous lead. Belgium was ahead 22-21, but a powerful four-point streak from Serbia closed the set.
Despite this setback, Belgium displayed a great determination and start the second set strongly, establishing a three-point lead (13-10) midway, and extending their advantage to level the match by the end of the set.
However, Serbia reacted in the third set and efficiently closed out the match, winning also the decisive fourth one.
Pavle Perić emerged as the top scorer for Serbia with 15 points, the same number of Atanasijević (with 75% in attack!), while Marko Podraščanin added 10.
For Belgium, Ferre Reggers was the most prolific player with 17 points, while Sam Deroo and Mathijs Desmed also contributed with 15 points each.

In the second match of Pool A, host Italy continued with convincing performances.
In their second appearance at this EuroVolley after the debut in Bologna, they struggled, above all in second set, but defeated Estonia 3-0 (25:17, 25:22, 25:19).
Yuri Romano was the most effective player of the match with 18 points, including the one that closed the game, while Oliver Venno of Estonia put down 15 points. Decisive, for Italy, also the 12 winning blocks (against 4 of the rivals).

In Pool B in Varna, Croatia triumphs over Ukraine in a thrilling 5-Set Match, while hosts Bulgaria celebrated their first win over Finland.
In details, in an exciting clash, Croatia bounced back from an unexpected straight-set loss to Finland by beating Ukraine in a never endong five-set contest.
Ukraine started the match very strong, securing the first set with a decisive 25-17 win.
However, the rivals returned into the game in the second set, led by Petar Dirlic and Marko Sedlacek. They took the set 25-20, leveling the match at 1-1. Ukraine regained control in the third set, keeping the lead from start to finish and closing it 25-20.
The fourth set turned out to be decisive for Croatia. Improved serving and attacks, they disrupted the rivals’ game plan.
Dirlic put down two crucial direct points on Ukraine’s star Oleh Plotnytskyi, to force the match into a decisive fifth set.
In and exciting final set, the teams traded points until Croatia signed the victory with a block.
Petar Dirlic was the top scorer of the match with 24 points, boasting a 51% in attack including 3 aces and 2 block points, while Marko Sedlacek also contributed with 21 points, and an impressive 70% in attack, including 2 blocks.
On the other side, Oleh Plotnytskyi led Ukraine’s score with 19 points, while Vasyl Tupchii also contributed with 16.

In another Pool B match, Bulgaria also made a strong comeback after a surprising opening defeat against Spain.
Pool hosts defeated Finland in four sets, with scores of 28:26, 27:25, 15:25, and 25:16, with 16 points from Tsvetan Sokolov, 15 from Denis Karyagin and 11 from Martin Atanasov.

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🏐| CEV EUROVOLLEY 2023 | All results of August 31

👉🏼 POOL A | Pala Barton | Perugia 🇮🇹

• 18.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Belgium 3-1 (25:22, 18:25, 25:20, 25:20)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH

• 21.00 (Local Time) | Estonia – Italy 0-3 (17:25, 22:25, 19:25)
| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH

👉🏼 POOL B | Palace of Culture and Sports | Varna 🇧🇬

• 17.30 (Local Time) | Ukraine – Croatia 2-3 (25:17, 22:25, 25:20, 15:25, 13:15)

• 20.30 (Local Time) | Finland – Bulgaria 1-3 (26:28, 25:27, 25:15, 16:25)

POOL C | Boris Trajkovski | Skopje 🇲🇰
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Montenegro – The Netherlands 0-3 (19:25, 18:25, 22:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Czech Republic 3-0 (25:17, 25:20, 25:20)

POOL D | Shlomo Group Arena | Tel Aviv-Yafo 🇮🇱
• 17.00 (Local Time) | France – Portugal 3-1 (25:21, 25:27, 25:19, 25:15)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Romania – Israel 2-3 (25:27, 25:12, 25:21, 22:25, 8:15)

🏐| NEXT GAMES | Friday, September 1, 2023