Cyprus
The home squad had to settle for silver, while Monaco claimed bronze by beating Iceland in its last match. CEV President André Meyer attended the Games on their final competition day, while CEV Senior Vice President Aleksandar Boričić was in attendance of all the volleyball action at the Games.
Cheered on by well over 2000 supporters on the stands of d’Coque, the home guys started well against Cyprus. They were in the lead through most of the first set, but they could not hold on to the 4-point advantage they had at 21-17 and had to bow out at the final 23-25.
Luxembourg still had a shot at the gold medals, but the second set put an end to its hopes. Cyprus pushed hard on offense and blocking and managed to break away for the impressive 25-15.
At 2:0 in sets, the Cypriots already had the title in their hands, but they did not want to delay the celebrations much longer. Assisted by the many mistakes on Luxembourg’s side, they rushed through the third set to win it by 25-20 and rejoice as champions.
Angelos Alexiou and Gabriel Georgiou scored 14 points each for Cyprus, while Arnaud Maroldt was most prolific for Luxembourg with 11.
To reach the bronze, Monaco needed the 3 points against Iceland and secured them with a 73-minute 3:0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) win. Other than the second set, when Iceland was in the lead at the two technical time-outs, Monaco dominated the game to shut out the opponent. Dragan Pezelj topped the scorers’ chart with 13 points for the winning team, while captain Robert Karl Hlodversson was responsible for 12 of Iceland’s points.
Final Ranking
1. Cyprus (12 points)
2. Luxembourg (7 points)
3. Monaco (6 points)
4. San Marino (5 points)
5. Iceland (0 points)
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