All the euphoria after the premier sensational victory over the Slovenians is gone. The Czech volleyball players went down a lot, made a lot of mistakes and did not manage perhaps the key match of the Ostrava group against the Belarusians, to whom they lost 1: 3 in 110 minutes after sets of 20:25, 25:19, 21:25 and 19:25. The progressive prospects of the domestic representatives became quite tangled, and even a possible victory over Montenegro may not be enough to fulfill them. Now it will be about every set, not only on the Czech side, but also in mutual matches of teams striving to participate in the round of 16.
–
Czech volleyball representative Milan Moník passes the ball in the EC match in Ostrava against Belarus.
Petr Sznapka, ČTK
–
The Czech team was again encouraged by almost three thousand fans, but the introductory set seemed to be not the head of the match at all. Too many of their offensive actions ended in confusion or naively collided with the Belarusian bloc. The shortage of too often missing home volleyball players increased to six points (12:18) and there was no one in the blue jersey who would stop the unfavorable development of the first set.
Rapid improvements in service and especially more significant concentrations of the entire Czech team offered a completely different spectacle in the second set. Finger successfully surprised the troubled universal Hadrava, the smashers got up and mainly the national team was helped by five direct points from the service.
Coach of the volleyball team of the Czech Republic Jiří Novák during the match of the European Championship against Belarus.
Sznapka Petr, ČTK
In addition, the aggressive service managed to push the Belarusians away from the net, making Vasina or Galabov an easier way to finish and patiently accumulating points. The second act reached the end with a clear Czech leadership at 10:15 pm, the representatives could not lose that.
Ostrava co-sponsors the European Volleyball Championship, the Czech Republic awaits a strong Slovenia or Italy in the group
–
From the third set, it actually started again and unfortunately the problems of the home team returned. Belarus resumed effective cooperation between Škredov and Babkevič on the network, which put the Czech defense in the field in trouble. As soon as the representatives’ game lacked emphasis, trouble with the block reappeared and the score tilted dangerously in favor of the opponent (18:22).
In addition, the Belarusians were caught in the end by another twenty-year-old sweeper Davyskib, and other Czech mistakes made their way to winning the set. The players from the bench did not help to lift the performance, the decision was made on the net and there the opponent simply had the upper hand. “We did not repeat the performance from the first match collectively or individually. Slovenians and I wanted to succeed, it was easier for us to play. We were expected to win with Belarus, which the boys kept in mind, “coach Jiří Novák had to admit.
In the fourth set, the Czech players picked up a terrifying shortfall after a string of five Belarusian points when Skredov was handed, and at 10:18 their situation was already critical. “There was nothing to catch, we had a worse income and a block, on the contrary, the opponents worked out practically everything. As soon as he started the set better, he started to play relaxed and we got into a cramp, “admitted blocker Oliver Sedláček.
| European Volleyball Championship – Group B in Ostrava: |
| Belarus – Czech Republic 3: 1 (20, -19, 21, 19) |
| Judges: Cambré (Belg.), Rajkovič (Chorv.). Time: 106 min. Attendance: 2536. |
| Report and points CR: Vašina 11, Zajíček 8, Hadrava 6, Galabov 19, Sedláček 2, Janouch 3, libero Moník – Finger 7, Bartůněk, Licek, Polák 3, A. Bartoš 1. |
| Most points of Belarus: Davyskiba 20, Skredov 13, Miskevich and Babkevich after 12. |
| Montenegro – Slovenia 0: 3 (-17, -16, -16). |
| Group C (Tampere): |
| Spain – Finland 0: 3 (-19, -20, -18) |
| Netherlands – Russia 2: 3 (-13, 19, -21, 21, -13) |
| Group D (Tallinn): |
| Slovakia – Estonia 2: 3 (25, 22, -18, -14, -13) |
| Croatia – Latvia 3: 2 (-28, 20, -23, 29, 11) |
| Group A (Krakow): |
| Belgium – Greece 3: 0 (16, 22, 22), |
| Serbia – Poland 2: 3 (-21, 23, 20, -20, -14) |
| Table |
| Group B |
| 1. Italy 1 1 0 3: 0 3 |
| 2. Bulgaria 1 1 0 3: 0 3 |
| 3. Slovenia 2 1 1 4: 3 3 |
| 4. Czechia 2 1 1 4:4 3 |
| 5. Belarus 2 1 1 3: 4 3 |
| 6. Montenegro 2 0 2 0: 6 0 |
– .
