Ισπανία – Σλοβενία 3-0

Εντυπωσιακό ξεκίνημα έκανε η Ισπανία στον Γ΄ όμιλο του 26ου Ευρωπαϊκού πρωταθλήματος όπου μετέχει και η Ελλάδα. Οι πρωταθλητές Ευρώπης που την Παρασκευή θα είναι αντίπαλοι της Ελλάδας έκαναν σχεδόν αλάνθαστο παιχνίδι και επικράτησαν της Σλοβενίας 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20).
Η Σλοβενία έκανε πολλά λάθη στην τελική προσπάθεια ενώ ο Γκασπαρίνι του Ηρακλή αγωνίστηκε αλλαγή μόνο στο 2ο σετ καθώς ήταν τραυματίας.
*Οι πόντοι της Ισπανίας προήλθαν: 7 άσοι, 44 επιθέσεις, 5 μπλοκ, 19 λάθη αντιπάλων και της Σλοβενίας: 1 άσος, 34 επιθέσεις, 9 μπλοκ, 15 λάθη αντιπάλων. Διαιτητές: Σούρμαν (Λιχνεστάιν), Ζαχαρέσκου (Ρουμανία).
ΙΣΠΑΝΙΑ (Βελάσκο): Γκ.Φαλάσκα 20 (16/33, 4 άσοι), Νόδα 9 (9/20), Μ.Φαλάσκα 2, Μόλτο 5 (2 άσοι), Γκαρσία Τόρες 7, Ροντρίγκεζ 11 (11/18) / Λομπάτο (λ. – 72% υποδοχή), Παλαρίνι 2.
ΣΛΟΒΕΝΙΑ (Χρίμπαρ): Πάγιενκ 8π., Βίντιτς 10, Σκετ 7, Πλέσκο 7, Ούρναουτ 9, Βίνσιτις 2 / Σκορς (λ. – 56% υπ.), Κούτουριτς, Σμουτς 1, Γκασπαρίνι.

Ισπανία – Σλοβενία 3-0

Εντυπωσιακό ξεκίνημα έκανε η Ισπανία στον Γ΄ όμιλο του 26ου Ευρωπαϊκού πρωταθλήματος όπου μετέχει και η Ελλάδα. Οι πρωταθλητές Ευρώπης που την Παρασκευή θα είναι αντίπαλοι της Ελλάδας έκαναν σχεδόν αλάνθαστο παιχνίδι και επικράτησαν της Σλοβενίας 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20).
Η Σλοβενία έκανε πολλά λάθη στην τελική προσπάθεια ενώ ο Γκασπαρίνι του Ηρακλή αγωνίστηκε αλλαγή μόνο στο 2ο σετ καθώς ήταν τραυματίας.
*Οι πόντοι της Ισπανίας προήλθαν: 7 άσοι, 44 επιθέσεις, 5 μπλοκ, 19 λάθη αντιπάλων και της Σλοβενίας: 1 άσος, 34 επιθέσεις, 9 μπλοκ, 15 λάθη αντιπάλων. Διαιτητές: Σούρμαν (Λιχνεστάιν), Ζαχαρέσκου (Ρουμανία).
ΙΣΠΑΝΙΑ (Βελάσκο): Γκ.Φαλάσκα 20 (16/33, 4 άσοι), Νόδα 9 (9/20), Μ.Φαλάσκα 2, Μόλτο 5 (2 άσοι), Γκαρσία Τόρες 7, Ροντρίγκεζ 11 (11/18) / Λομπάτο (λ. – 72% υποδοχή), Παλαρίνι 2.
ΣΛΟΒΕΝΙΑ (Χρίμπαρ): Πάγιενκ 8π., Βίντιτς 10, Σκετ 7, Πλέσκο 7, Ούρναουτ 9, Βίνσιτις 2 / Σκορς (λ. – 56% υπ.), Κούτουριτς, Σμουτς 1, Γκασπαρίνι.

Ισπανία – Σλοβενία 3-0

Εντυπωσιακό ξεκίνημα έκανε η Ισπανία στον Γ΄ όμιλο του 26ου Ευρωπαϊκού πρωταθλήματος όπου μετέχει και η Ελλάδα. Οι πρωταθλητές Ευρώπης που την Παρασκευή θα είναι αντίπαλοι της Ελλάδας έκαναν σχεδόν αλάνθαστο παιχνίδι και επικράτησαν της Σλοβενίας 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20).
Η Σλοβενία έκανε πολλά λάθη στην τελική προσπάθεια ενώ ο Γκασπαρίνι του Ηρακλή αγωνίστηκε αλλαγή μόνο στο 2ο σετ καθώς ήταν τραυματίας.
*Οι πόντοι της Ισπανίας προήλθαν: 7 άσοι, 44 επιθέσεις, 5 μπλοκ, 19 λάθη αντιπάλων και της Σλοβενίας: 1 άσος, 34 επιθέσεις, 9 μπλοκ, 15 λάθη αντιπάλων. Διαιτητές: Σούρμαν (Λιχνεστάιν), Ζαχαρέσκου (Ρουμανία).
ΙΣΠΑΝΙΑ (Βελάσκο): Γκ.Φαλάσκα 20 (16/33, 4 άσοι), Νόδα 9 (9/20), Μ.Φαλάσκα 2, Μόλτο 5 (2 άσοι), Γκαρσία Τόρες 7, Ροντρίγκεζ 11 (11/18) / Λομπάτο (λ. – 72% υποδοχή), Παλαρίνι 2.
ΣΛΟΒΕΝΙΑ (Χρίμπαρ): Πάγιενκ 8π., Βίντιτς 10, Σκετ 7, Πλέσκο 7, Ούρναουτ 9, Βίνσιτις 2 / Σκορς (λ. – 56% υπ.), Κούτουριτς, Σμουτς 1, Γκασπαρίνι.

Ρουμελιώτης: “Μπορούμε και οχτάδα”

Σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε στο περιοδικό της ΕΟΠΕ “Volleyball”, ο αρχηγός της Εθνικής μας ομάδας, Νίκος Ρουμελιώτης, και παίκτης του ΑΡΗ Μαρμούρη από τον περασμένο Ιούνιο, μίλησε για τους στόχους της Εθνικής μας ομάδας στο 26ο Πανευρωπαϊκό Πρωτάθλημα Βόλεϊ, οι πύλες του οποίου άνοιξαν σήμερα στη γειτονική Τουρκία, τονίζοντας ότι: “Στόχος της ελληνικής ομάδας είναι να περάσει στην επόμενη φάση. Αυτό έχουμε ως πρωταρχικό σκοπό στο μυαλό μας κι αυτόν θα προσπαθήσουμε να κάνουμε πραγματικότητα. Η είσοδος στην οχτάδα είναι κάτι που θέλουμε όλοι πάρα πολύ και προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση κινούμαστε”, ήταν τα πρώτα λόγια του Νίκου Ρουμελιώτη, γα να προσθέσει: “Ξέρουμε ότι τα πράγματα δεν είναι εύκολα για μας. Αλλά τίποτα δεν είναι εύκολο κι εφικτό, αν δεν παλέψεις γι΄ αυτό”. Κάνοντας μία σύντομη κριτική το πώς βλέπει τους προσεχείς μας αντιπάλους, στο πλαίσιο του γ΄ ομίλου του Πανευρωπαϊκού, τόνισε: “Οι ομάδες του ομίλου, όπου συμμετέχουμε, δηλαδή η Ισπανία, η Σλοβενία κι η Σλοβακία, θεωρώ ότι είναι στα μέτρα μας. Από εκεί και πέρα, σίγουρα η Ισπανία χρίζει ιδιαίτερης προσοχής και πιστεύω ότι θα είναι ο πιο δύσκολος αντίπαλος για εμάς, καθώς ας μην ξεχνάμε ότι κατέκτησε και το Ευρωπαϊκό Πρωτάθλημα πρόπερσι”.

Επίσης, ο έμπειρος αθλητής προσέθεσε ότι: “Αγωνιστικά, δεν είμαστε στο επίπεδο που θα έπρεπε να είμαστε τα τελευταία χρόνια κι αυτό σίγουρα είναι πολύ δυσάρεστο. Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, θεωρώ ότι αυτό το Πανευρωπαϊκό είναι μιας πρώτης τάξεως ευκαιρία να κερδίσουμε το χαμένο έδαφος”.

Ρουμελιώτης: “Μπορούμε και οχτάδα”

Σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε στο περιοδικό της ΕΟΠΕ “Volleyball”, ο αρχηγός της Εθνικής μας ομάδας, Νίκος Ρουμελιώτης, και παίκτης του ΑΡΗ Μαρμούρη από τον περασμένο Ιούνιο, μίλησε για τους στόχους της Εθνικής μας ομάδας στο 26ο Πανευρωπαϊκό Πρωτάθλημα Βόλεϊ, οι πύλες του οποίου άνοιξαν σήμερα στη γειτονική Τουρκία, τονίζοντας ότι: “Στόχος της ελληνικής ομάδας είναι να περάσει στην επόμενη φάση. Αυτό έχουμε ως πρωταρχικό σκοπό στο μυαλό μας κι αυτόν θα προσπαθήσουμε να κάνουμε πραγματικότητα. Η είσοδος στην οχτάδα είναι κάτι που θέλουμε όλοι πάρα πολύ και προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση κινούμαστε”, ήταν τα πρώτα λόγια του Νίκου Ρουμελιώτη, γα να προσθέσει: “Ξέρουμε ότι τα πράγματα δεν είναι εύκολα για μας. Αλλά τίποτα δεν είναι εύκολο κι εφικτό, αν δεν παλέψεις γι΄ αυτό”. Κάνοντας μία σύντομη κριτική το πώς βλέπει τους προσεχείς μας αντιπάλους, στο πλαίσιο του γ΄ ομίλου του Πανευρωπαϊκού, τόνισε: “Οι ομάδες του ομίλου, όπου συμμετέχουμε, δηλαδή η Ισπανία, η Σλοβενία κι η Σλοβακία, θεωρώ ότι είναι στα μέτρα μας. Από εκεί και πέρα, σίγουρα η Ισπανία χρίζει ιδιαίτερης προσοχής και πιστεύω ότι θα είναι ο πιο δύσκολος αντίπαλος για εμάς, καθώς ας μην ξεχνάμε ότι κατέκτησε και το Ευρωπαϊκό Πρωτάθλημα πρόπερσι”.

Επίσης, ο έμπειρος αθλητής προσέθεσε ότι: “Αγωνιστικά, δεν είμαστε στο επίπεδο που θα έπρεπε να είμαστε τα τελευταία χρόνια κι αυτό σίγουρα είναι πολύ δυσάρεστο. Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, θεωρώ ότι αυτό το Πανευρωπαϊκό είναι μιας πρώτης τάξεως ευκαιρία να κερδίσουμε το χαμένο έδαφος”.

Ρουμελιώτης: “Μπορούμε και οχτάδα”

Σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε στο περιοδικό της ΕΟΠΕ “Volleyball”, ο αρχηγός της Εθνικής μας ομάδας, Νίκος Ρουμελιώτης, και παίκτης του ΑΡΗ Μαρμούρη από τον περασμένο Ιούνιο, μίλησε για τους στόχους της Εθνικής μας ομάδας στο 26ο Πανευρωπαϊκό Πρωτάθλημα Βόλεϊ, οι πύλες του οποίου άνοιξαν σήμερα στη γειτονική Τουρκία, τονίζοντας ότι: “Στόχος της ελληνικής ομάδας είναι να περάσει στην επόμενη φάση. Αυτό έχουμε ως πρωταρχικό σκοπό στο μυαλό μας κι αυτόν θα προσπαθήσουμε να κάνουμε πραγματικότητα. Η είσοδος στην οχτάδα είναι κάτι που θέλουμε όλοι πάρα πολύ και προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση κινούμαστε”, ήταν τα πρώτα λόγια του Νίκου Ρουμελιώτη, γα να προσθέσει: “Ξέρουμε ότι τα πράγματα δεν είναι εύκολα για μας. Αλλά τίποτα δεν είναι εύκολο κι εφικτό, αν δεν παλέψεις γι΄ αυτό”. Κάνοντας μία σύντομη κριτική το πώς βλέπει τους προσεχείς μας αντιπάλους, στο πλαίσιο του γ΄ ομίλου του Πανευρωπαϊκού, τόνισε: “Οι ομάδες του ομίλου, όπου συμμετέχουμε, δηλαδή η Ισπανία, η Σλοβενία κι η Σλοβακία, θεωρώ ότι είναι στα μέτρα μας. Από εκεί και πέρα, σίγουρα η Ισπανία χρίζει ιδιαίτερης προσοχής και πιστεύω ότι θα είναι ο πιο δύσκολος αντίπαλος για εμάς, καθώς ας μην ξεχνάμε ότι κατέκτησε και το Ευρωπαϊκό Πρωτάθλημα πρόπερσι”.

Επίσης, ο έμπειρος αθλητής προσέθεσε ότι: “Αγωνιστικά, δεν είμαστε στο επίπεδο που θα έπρεπε να είμαστε τα τελευταία χρόνια κι αυτό σίγουρα είναι πολύ δυσάρεστο. Από την άλλη πλευρά, όμως, θεωρώ ότι αυτό το Πανευρωπαϊκό είναι μιας πρώτης τάξεως ευκαιρία να κερδίσουμε το χαμένο έδαφος”.

Αναβάλλεται η πρεμιέρα

Η προκήρυξη των εθνικών εκλογών για τις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2009 οδήγησε την ΕΣΑΠ στην αναγκαστική μετάθεση της πρεμιέρας του πρωταθλήματος της Α1 Ανδρών, που επρόκειτο να ξεκινήσει στις 3 Οκτωβρίου.

Όπως ανακοίνωσε η Ενωση «μετά την προκήρυξη των εθνικών εκλογών για τις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2009, μετατίθεται η έναρξη του πρωταθλήματος βόλεϊ Α1 2009-2010. Η ακριβής ημερομηνία έναρξης και οι αναλυτικές ημερομηνίες του προγράμματος θα αποτελέσουν βασικό θέμα συζήτησης της νέας Επιτροπής Πρωταθλήματος της ΕΣΑΠ, η οποία θα συνεδριάσει τις επόμενες ημέρες».

Αναβάλλεται η πρεμιέρα

Η προκήρυξη των εθνικών εκλογών για τις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2009 οδήγησε την ΕΣΑΠ στην αναγκαστική μετάθεση της πρεμιέρας του πρωταθλήματος της Α1 Ανδρών, που επρόκειτο να ξεκινήσει στις 3 Οκτωβρίου.

Όπως ανακοίνωσε η Ενωση «μετά την προκήρυξη των εθνικών εκλογών για τις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2009, μετατίθεται η έναρξη του πρωταθλήματος βόλεϊ Α1 2009-2010. Η ακριβής ημερομηνία έναρξης και οι αναλυτικές ημερομηνίες του προγράμματος θα αποτελέσουν βασικό θέμα συζήτησης της νέας Επιτροπής Πρωταθλήματος της ΕΣΑΠ, η οποία θα συνεδριάσει τις επόμενες ημέρες».

Αναβάλλεται η πρεμιέρα

Η προκήρυξη των εθνικών εκλογών για τις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2009 οδήγησε την ΕΣΑΠ στην αναγκαστική μετάθεση της πρεμιέρας του πρωταθλήματος της Α1 Ανδρών, που επρόκειτο να ξεκινήσει στις 3 Οκτωβρίου.

Όπως ανακοίνωσε η Ενωση «μετά την προκήρυξη των εθνικών εκλογών για τις 4 Οκτωβρίου 2009, μετατίθεται η έναρξη του πρωταθλήματος βόλεϊ Α1 2009-2010. Η ακριβής ημερομηνία έναρξης και οι αναλυτικές ημερομηνίες του προγράμματος θα αποτελέσουν βασικό θέμα συζήτησης της νέας Επιτροπής Πρωταθλήματος της ΕΣΑΠ, η οποία θα συνεδριάσει τις επόμενες ημέρες».

Bulgaria defeats Serbia, Germany overcomes host Turkey in tiebreak

Host Turkey opened the 26th edition of the CEV Men’s European Championships in Izmir in front of 4,300 excited fans with a 2:3 defeat against Germany. In the match of the day in Istanbul, Bulgaria overcame Serbia in a dazzling five-setter. Russia (3-1 against Estonia), Poland (3:1 versus France), Spain (straight-set victory over Slovenia) as well as the Netherlands (3:2 against Finland) were the other winners of day 1 at the 2009 CEV Men’s European Championships in Turkey.

Picture gallery

4,300 thrilled Turkish supporters were in a rush of joy when their local heroes leveled the game to 24-24 in the first set of the second duel of Pool A between host Turkey and favorite Germany. However, German super star Jochen Schöps kept cool when he hammered a missile cross court towards the Turkish defenders. As the Turks undid their catch-up race with a simple passing mistake, the Germans took the first set after some moments of tremble. But Turks never give up, and even when the Germans controlled the main phase of set No. 2, it was not enough. The Turks turned around the score in their favor, 25-23, with Volkan Güc closing it out with a blistering winner from back row. Nevertheless, the Germans were the better and perhaps luckier team overall tonight with a strong collective, Schöps and Schwarz on fire, and a well-timed offensive play. Even the enthusiastic Turkish fans couldn’t stop the German stars and the end of the third and fifth set, when first Sebastian Schwarz ended it through the middle with a smart offensive combination, and in the deciding set, when Björn Andrae seized the sixth German match ball with a scorching winner from the left, 15-13. Tonight, Turkey fought bravely whilst Germany got off cheaply.

In the duel of the day in Istanbul between Serbia and Bulgaria, Serbian spikers were flying high in the beginning, reaching the second technical timeout 16-12 in front. The Serbs set the pace, Bulgaria couldn’t follow (21-25). But Bulgaria didn’t let loose, catching set 2 and 4, to close things out in the decider. The fifth set started with an overall good game-play from the Bulgarian side; an early 1-4 forced Serbian head coach Igor Kolakovic using his first timeout to solve the problems in defence. Teams switched courts with an 8-4 Bulgarian lead. Serbia fought back to 8-9 making less mistakes, but the Bulgarian block was finally too strong to overcome, bouncing the Bulgarians into heaven. Serbian Ivan Miljkovic was the best scorer with 35 points.
“I am very happy to win today”, said Bulgarian captain Vladimir Nikolov. “We outplayed one of the best teams in the world. About 40 days ago the Serbian team played the final of the World League, this game was very important for us.”
“I would like to congratulate Bulgaria, they played really well”, replied Serbian captain Nikola Grbic. “At the beginning of the 4th set we had a chance when the score was 22-21 but we weren’t able to take advantage of it. I hope we’ll play better tomorrow otherwise we have to pack our bags and go home.”

In the opening game of the 26th edition of the Men’s European Championships, defending champion Spain overpowered Slovenia in straight sets. The Spaniards proved too strong for the less experienced Slovenians in the first duel of Pool C in Izmir. Whilst Spanish head coach Julio Velasco was “very happy, winning the difficult first match is always very important”, Slovenian head coach Gregor Hribar saw “too many problems in my team, especially with my opposite players. We need to do much better.” Spanish Guillermo was the top scorer of the game with 20 points.

When French super star Stéphane Antiga blocked for a 25-18 first set win against Poland in Pool A, the French players switched courts with a bunch of self confidence. In fact, the first set was very balanced until 12-12, but inexplicably the Polish express stopped when France raised the pace in the middle of the set. However, the Poles bounced back strongly in the second set, when they dominated their opponents from the beginning (8-4, 16-12, 25-17). It seemed that France regained control in the third set, but a 19-17 lead was not enough. The Polish block proved too high for the French spikers, especially for Antonin Rouzier who didn’t find his way to overcome the strong Polish defense system (22-25). Poland continued their mode of success in the fourth set, finally out knocking their French rivals 3:1 after 96 minutes.

In Pool B, Estonia played against pre-favorite Russia for the opening match of the European Championships at the Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. The match started with effective serves for both teams, but thanks to a series of successful attacks Estonia led the way at the first technical time-out (8:3). The guys from Tallinn surprisingly sped up the operations for an impressive 16:9 at the second break. With the score standing at 18:10 for the opponents, Italian-born and Russia’s head coach Daniele Bagnoli asked for a time-out in order to stop the silly mistakes that affected the performance of his players. Despite all their efforts, the Russians could not close up the gap in the score and backed up by their supporters the Estonians scored the first set at 25-20. Having contained the amnount of unforced mistakes, the Russians led the way in the second and third set, with Alexey Cheremisin well contributing to successfully end this section of the game. The Russians did not intend to risk a tie-break and started off the fourth set well motivated. The difference in terms of quality and physical skills separating these two teams was to be fully noticed and the match quickly ended at 25-15 for the Russian powerhouse. Estonian captain Kert Toobal said: “We played very well against one of the best teams in the world, late in the second set there was a wet floor and we lost a critical point, small details affected the result of the game”. Russian head coach Daniel Bagnoli concluded: “I hope we’ll play the whole tournament like we did in the second half of this game.”

In the last game of the day in Istanbul, the Netherlands overpowered Finland in a hard-fought five-setter 18-16.

Please click here for results and standings.

Pools
Pool A in Izmir: POL, FRA, TUR, GER
Pool B in Istanbul: RUS, EST, NED, FIN
Pool C in Izmir: ESP, SLO, GRE, SVK
Pool D in Istanbul: BUL, SRB, ITA, CZE

The teams allocated to the 4 preliminary Pools shall compete following the principle “one against each other” in one single round. The teams classified 4th in each pool shall be automatically eliminated from the Final Round. The teams classified 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be qualified to the Playoff Pools E and F.
In the Playoff Pools (E and F), the teams will again compete “one against each other” in a single round, taking into account the fact that the results of the matches already played between the qualifications in the previous Pool will be counted towards the final ranking. The teams classified 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd in each playoff pool will be automatically eliminated from the Final Round. The first two teams classified in each Playoff Pool will qualify for the semi-finals.
The semi-finals and finals matches will then designate the new European champion.

The competition in Turkey will benefit from wide television coverage, established in close collaboration with the media partner of the European Volleyball Confederation, Infront Sports.
LAOLA1.tv – the international online sports TV – is ready to fire up a great special for all Volleyball fans: selected matches of the upcoming CEV European Championship 2009 in Turkey will be broadcasted LIVE and for FREE at www.laola1.tv. Watch out for top teams striving for the continental title.

After the Pool matches, the exciting playoffs will take place next September 8-10 where the teams having qualified for the second Round through the preliminary pools will give their best to vie for a ticket in the semi-finals and the finals scheduled for Sunday, September 13.
There is no registration and no login required to watch all LIVE streams. Users are part of the action with only one click. Live-streaming will be available only in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

For more news, please refer to the CEV homepage www.cev.lu as well as to the organizer’s webpage www.2009mech.com.

Bulgaria defeats Serbia, Germany overcomes host Turkey in tiebreak

Host Turkey opened the 26th edition of the CEV Men’s European Championships in Izmir in front of 4,300 excited fans with a 2:3 defeat against Germany. In the match of the day in Istanbul, Bulgaria overcame Serbia in a dazzling five-setter. Russia (3-1 against Estonia), Poland (3:1 versus France), Spain (straight-set victory over Slovenia) as well as the Netherlands (3:2 against Finland) were the other winners of day 1 at the 2009 CEV Men’s European Championships in Turkey.

Picture gallery

4,300 thrilled Turkish supporters were in a rush of joy when their local heroes leveled the game to 24-24 in the first set of the second duel of Pool A between host Turkey and favorite Germany. However, German super star Jochen Schöps kept cool when he hammered a missile cross court towards the Turkish defenders. As the Turks undid their catch-up race with a simple passing mistake, the Germans took the first set after some moments of tremble. But Turks never give up, and even when the Germans controlled the main phase of set No. 2, it was not enough. The Turks turned around the score in their favor, 25-23, with Volkan Güc closing it out with a blistering winner from back row. Nevertheless, the Germans were the better and perhaps luckier team overall tonight with a strong collective, Schöps and Schwarz on fire, and a well-timed offensive play. Even the enthusiastic Turkish fans couldn’t stop the German stars and the end of the third and fifth set, when first Sebastian Schwarz ended it through the middle with a smart offensive combination, and in the deciding set, when Björn Andrae seized the sixth German match ball with a scorching winner from the left, 15-13. Tonight, Turkey fought bravely whilst Germany got off cheaply.

In the duel of the day in Istanbul between Serbia and Bulgaria, Serbian spikers were flying high in the beginning, reaching the second technical timeout 16-12 in front. The Serbs set the pace, Bulgaria couldn’t follow (21-25). But Bulgaria didn’t let loose, catching set 2 and 4, to close things out in the decider. The fifth set started with an overall good game-play from the Bulgarian side; an early 1-4 forced Serbian head coach Igor Kolakovic using his first timeout to solve the problems in defence. Teams switched courts with an 8-4 Bulgarian lead. Serbia fought back to 8-9 making less mistakes, but the Bulgarian block was finally too strong to overcome, bouncing the Bulgarians into heaven. Serbian Ivan Miljkovic was the best scorer with 35 points.
“I am very happy to win today”, said Bulgarian captain Vladimir Nikolov. “We outplayed one of the best teams in the world. About 40 days ago the Serbian team played the final of the World League, this game was very important for us.”
“I would like to congratulate Bulgaria, they played really well”, replied Serbian captain Nikola Grbic. “At the beginning of the 4th set we had a chance when the score was 22-21 but we weren’t able to take advantage of it. I hope we’ll play better tomorrow otherwise we have to pack our bags and go home.”

In the opening game of the 26th edition of the Men’s European Championships, defending champion Spain overpowered Slovenia in straight sets. The Spaniards proved too strong for the less experienced Slovenians in the first duel of Pool C in Izmir. Whilst Spanish head coach Julio Velasco was “very happy, winning the difficult first match is always very important”, Slovenian head coach Gregor Hribar saw “too many problems in my team, especially with my opposite players. We need to do much better.” Spanish Guillermo was the top scorer of the game with 20 points.

When French super star Stéphane Antiga blocked for a 25-18 first set win against Poland in Pool A, the French players switched courts with a bunch of self confidence. In fact, the first set was very balanced until 12-12, but inexplicably the Polish express stopped when France raised the pace in the middle of the set. However, the Poles bounced back strongly in the second set, when they dominated their opponents from the beginning (8-4, 16-12, 25-17). It seemed that France regained control in the third set, but a 19-17 lead was not enough. The Polish block proved too high for the French spikers, especially for Antonin Rouzier who didn’t find his way to overcome the strong Polish defense system (22-25). Poland continued their mode of success in the fourth set, finally out knocking their French rivals 3:1 after 96 minutes.

In Pool B, Estonia played against pre-favorite Russia for the opening match of the European Championships at the Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. The match started with effective serves for both teams, but thanks to a series of successful attacks Estonia led the way at the first technical time-out (8:3). The guys from Tallinn surprisingly sped up the operations for an impressive 16:9 at the second break. With the score standing at 18:10 for the opponents, Italian-born and Russia’s head coach Daniele Bagnoli asked for a time-out in order to stop the silly mistakes that affected the performance of his players. Despite all their efforts, the Russians could not close up the gap in the score and backed up by their supporters the Estonians scored the first set at 25-20. Having contained the amnount of unforced mistakes, the Russians led the way in the second and third set, with Alexey Cheremisin well contributing to successfully end this section of the game. The Russians did not intend to risk a tie-break and started off the fourth set well motivated. The difference in terms of quality and physical skills separating these two teams was to be fully noticed and the match quickly ended at 25-15 for the Russian powerhouse. Estonian captain Kert Toobal said: “We played very well against one of the best teams in the world, late in the second set there was a wet floor and we lost a critical point, small details affected the result of the game”. Russian head coach Daniel Bagnoli concluded: “I hope we’ll play the whole tournament like we did in the second half of this game.”

In the last game of the day in Istanbul, the Netherlands overpowered Finland in a hard-fought five-setter 18-16.

Please click here for results and standings.

Pools
Pool A in Izmir: POL, FRA, TUR, GER
Pool B in Istanbul: RUS, EST, NED, FIN
Pool C in Izmir: ESP, SLO, GRE, SVK
Pool D in Istanbul: BUL, SRB, ITA, CZE

The teams allocated to the 4 preliminary Pools shall compete following the principle “one against each other” in one single round. The teams classified 4th in each pool shall be automatically eliminated from the Final Round. The teams classified 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be qualified to the Playoff Pools E and F.
In the Playoff Pools (E and F), the teams will again compete “one against each other” in a single round, taking into account the fact that the results of the matches already played between the qualifications in the previous Pool will be counted towards the final ranking. The teams classified 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd in each playoff pool will be automatically eliminated from the Final Round. The first two teams classified in each Playoff Pool will qualify for the semi-finals.
The semi-finals and finals matches will then designate the new European champion.

The competition in Turkey will benefit from wide television coverage, established in close collaboration with the media partner of the European Volleyball Confederation, Infront Sports.
LAOLA1.tv – the international online sports TV – is ready to fire up a great special for all Volleyball fans: selected matches of the upcoming CEV European Championship 2009 in Turkey will be broadcasted LIVE and for FREE at www.laola1.tv. Watch out for top teams striving for the continental title.

After the Pool matches, the exciting playoffs will take place next September 8-10 where the teams having qualified for the second Round through the preliminary pools will give their best to vie for a ticket in the semi-finals and the finals scheduled for Sunday, September 13.
There is no registration and no login required to watch all LIVE streams. Users are part of the action with only one click. Live-streaming will be available only in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

For more news, please refer to the CEV homepage www.cev.lu as well as to the organizer’s webpage www.2009mech.com.

Bulgaria defeats Serbia, Germany overcomes host Turkey in tiebreak

Host Turkey opened the 26th edition of the CEV Men’s European Championships in Izmir in front of 4,300 excited fans with a 2:3 defeat against Germany. In the match of the day in Istanbul, Bulgaria overcame Serbia in a dazzling five-setter. Russia (3-1 against Estonia), Poland (3:1 versus France), Spain (straight-set victory over Slovenia) as well as the Netherlands (3:2 against Finland) were the other winners of day 1 at the 2009 CEV Men’s European Championships in Turkey.

Picture gallery

4,300 thrilled Turkish supporters were in a rush of joy when their local heroes leveled the game to 24-24 in the first set of the second duel of Pool A between host Turkey and favorite Germany. However, German super star Jochen Schöps kept cool when he hammered a missile cross court towards the Turkish defenders. As the Turks undid their catch-up race with a simple passing mistake, the Germans took the first set after some moments of tremble. But Turks never give up, and even when the Germans controlled the main phase of set No. 2, it was not enough. The Turks turned around the score in their favor, 25-23, with Volkan Güc closing it out with a blistering winner from back row. Nevertheless, the Germans were the better and perhaps luckier team overall tonight with a strong collective, Schöps and Schwarz on fire, and a well-timed offensive play. Even the enthusiastic Turkish fans couldn’t stop the German stars and the end of the third and fifth set, when first Sebastian Schwarz ended it through the middle with a smart offensive combination, and in the deciding set, when Björn Andrae seized the sixth German match ball with a scorching winner from the left, 15-13. Tonight, Turkey fought bravely whilst Germany got off cheaply.

In the duel of the day in Istanbul between Serbia and Bulgaria, Serbian spikers were flying high in the beginning, reaching the second technical timeout 16-12 in front. The Serbs set the pace, Bulgaria couldn’t follow (21-25). But Bulgaria didn’t let loose, catching set 2 and 4, to close things out in the decider. The fifth set started with an overall good game-play from the Bulgarian side; an early 1-4 forced Serbian head coach Igor Kolakovic using his first timeout to solve the problems in defence. Teams switched courts with an 8-4 Bulgarian lead. Serbia fought back to 8-9 making less mistakes, but the Bulgarian block was finally too strong to overcome, bouncing the Bulgarians into heaven. Serbian Ivan Miljkovic was the best scorer with 35 points.
“I am very happy to win today”, said Bulgarian captain Vladimir Nikolov. “We outplayed one of the best teams in the world. About 40 days ago the Serbian team played the final of the World League, this game was very important for us.”
“I would like to congratulate Bulgaria, they played really well”, replied Serbian captain Nikola Grbic. “At the beginning of the 4th set we had a chance when the score was 22-21 but we weren’t able to take advantage of it. I hope we’ll play better tomorrow otherwise we have to pack our bags and go home.”

In the opening game of the 26th edition of the Men’s European Championships, defending champion Spain overpowered Slovenia in straight sets. The Spaniards proved too strong for the less experienced Slovenians in the first duel of Pool C in Izmir. Whilst Spanish head coach Julio Velasco was “very happy, winning the difficult first match is always very important”, Slovenian head coach Gregor Hribar saw “too many problems in my team, especially with my opposite players. We need to do much better.” Spanish Guillermo was the top scorer of the game with 20 points.

When French super star Stéphane Antiga blocked for a 25-18 first set win against Poland in Pool A, the French players switched courts with a bunch of self confidence. In fact, the first set was very balanced until 12-12, but inexplicably the Polish express stopped when France raised the pace in the middle of the set. However, the Poles bounced back strongly in the second set, when they dominated their opponents from the beginning (8-4, 16-12, 25-17). It seemed that France regained control in the third set, but a 19-17 lead was not enough. The Polish block proved too high for the French spikers, especially for Antonin Rouzier who didn’t find his way to overcome the strong Polish defense system (22-25). Poland continued their mode of success in the fourth set, finally out knocking their French rivals 3:1 after 96 minutes.

In Pool B, Estonia played against pre-favorite Russia for the opening match of the European Championships at the Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall in Istanbul. The match started with effective serves for both teams, but thanks to a series of successful attacks Estonia led the way at the first technical time-out (8:3). The guys from Tallinn surprisingly sped up the operations for an impressive 16:9 at the second break. With the score standing at 18:10 for the opponents, Italian-born and Russia’s head coach Daniele Bagnoli asked for a time-out in order to stop the silly mistakes that affected the performance of his players. Despite all their efforts, the Russians could not close up the gap in the score and backed up by their supporters the Estonians scored the first set at 25-20. Having contained the amnount of unforced mistakes, the Russians led the way in the second and third set, with Alexey Cheremisin well contributing to successfully end this section of the game. The Russians did not intend to risk a tie-break and started off the fourth set well motivated. The difference in terms of quality and physical skills separating these two teams was to be fully noticed and the match quickly ended at 25-15 for the Russian powerhouse. Estonian captain Kert Toobal said: “We played very well against one of the best teams in the world, late in the second set there was a wet floor and we lost a critical point, small details affected the result of the game”. Russian head coach Daniel Bagnoli concluded: “I hope we’ll play the whole tournament like we did in the second half of this game.”

In the last game of the day in Istanbul, the Netherlands overpowered Finland in a hard-fought five-setter 18-16.

Please click here for results and standings.

Pools
Pool A in Izmir: POL, FRA, TUR, GER
Pool B in Istanbul: RUS, EST, NED, FIN
Pool C in Izmir: ESP, SLO, GRE, SVK
Pool D in Istanbul: BUL, SRB, ITA, CZE

The teams allocated to the 4 preliminary Pools shall compete following the principle “one against each other” in one single round. The teams classified 4th in each pool shall be automatically eliminated from the Final Round. The teams classified 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be qualified to the Playoff Pools E and F.
In the Playoff Pools (E and F), the teams will again compete “one against each other” in a single round, taking into account the fact that the results of the matches already played between the qualifications in the previous Pool will be counted towards the final ranking. The teams classified 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd in each playoff pool will be automatically eliminated from the Final Round. The first two teams classified in each Playoff Pool will qualify for the semi-finals.
The semi-finals and finals matches will then designate the new European champion.

The competition in Turkey will benefit from wide television coverage, established in close collaboration with the media partner of the European Volleyball Confederation, Infront Sports.
LAOLA1.tv – the international online sports TV – is ready to fire up a great special for all Volleyball fans: selected matches of the upcoming CEV European Championship 2009 in Turkey will be broadcasted LIVE and for FREE at www.laola1.tv. Watch out for top teams striving for the continental title.

After the Pool matches, the exciting playoffs will take place next September 8-10 where the teams having qualified for the second Round through the preliminary pools will give their best to vie for a ticket in the semi-finals and the finals scheduled for Sunday, September 13.
There is no registration and no login required to watch all LIVE streams. Users are part of the action with only one click. Live-streaming will be available only in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

For more news, please refer to the CEV homepage www.cev.lu as well as to the organizer’s webpage www.2009mech.com.