Türkiye and Austria qualify for #EuroVolleyU18M, hosts Latvia finish home campaign on a high note
News
Türkiye and Austria have reached the Final Round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU18M following completion of a second-round qualifier held this past weekend in Latvia’s capital, Riga. The home side representing Latvia finished the competition in third place following their 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15) victory over Hungary on Sunday.
With the two teams already qualified for the Final Round, Türkiye beat Austria 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-7), thus finishing first in the standing of the tournament. For the winners, Ismail Ayranci and Ata Ünver scored 14 points apiece, while for Austria Daniel Ratz-Michal and Erik Kolev racked up eight points each. Türkiye considerably out-blocked Austria by 16 top four. Türkiye finished the qualifier with a perfect record of three wins in as many matches – and will contest the Final Round later this year in Bulgaria’s Sofia and Plovdiv together with Austria and another 14 teams from across Europe.
Home heroes Latvia finished the tournament on a high note through their victory over Hungary. Eduards Dudens scored 14 points for Latvia, including five blocks, and Rihards Stivrins scored 14 times as well, while Ralfs Andrejevs piled up 12. Zalan Pongo was the most prolific player for Hungary with 22 points, including four blocks, while Patrick Fitor scored 17 times.
Latvia stormed to a 7-2 lead in the first set before Hungary came close to 21-22. Yet, the hosts managed to finish the set in their favour (25-23). History repeated itself in the second set where Latvia edged ahead (9-3) before Hungary levelled the score at 11-all. This time, it was Hungary, however, to have the upper hand at the end with much help coming from Fitor. After trailing 3-7 early in the third set, Latvia fought back to 10-10 – but the hosts had to chase again after Hungary scored three times in a row for 22-20. Latvia showed much composure and stamina to respond with a four-point streak with Andrejevs eventually finishing the set at 25-23. Latvia was clearly the dominant force in the fourth and final set (11-3, 12-6) where they cruised to a comprehensive 25-15 win, with Stivrins ending the match with a block.
Maris Vensbergs“I am very pleased with the team’s performance today, and the most important thing was to finish the tournament with a victory. Maybe it was not the most enjoyable game for the audience, and there were many mistakes and inaccuracies from the side of Hungary, too. Such a victory would have been better placed yesterday and we would have delivered a more beautiful game today, but we finish the tournament on a positive note."
Head coach of Latvia
“The four teams that played in Riga are difficult to compare with the other best European teams because we have not played with any other, but I think both Türkiye and Austria could be regarded among the top eight in Europe. It was a good experience, as we showed much resilience throughout the game, and made only a few mistakes. If we ever want to play in a final round, however, we must get rid of our mistakes and play more confident and measured especially in key moments. We still lack experience compared to the best teams in Europe,” the Latvian coach added.