Russia – Finland
The two unbeaten teams started the game pressured by the importance of the match. It was pretty even before the first technical break (8-7 to Finland), but then things changed and Russia took over the control of the match. Russian boys always maintained a slight advantage, mainly of two or three points, while Finland was trying hard to match up the potent rival team. However, they could not avoid losing the first set 21-25.
Russian block was an unsolvable mystery for the Finns in the second set. With an early 12-5 lead, Russia made a clear statement to their rivals, who struggled to find a way around the strong Russian defense. In the end, it was an easy 25-14 and 2:0 in sets to Alexander Karikov’s team.
The Russian machinery continued to steamroll their rivals in the third set as well. From the very beginning, Russia imposed their rhythm of play, created a gap and never looked back for another easy 25-11 and a flawless victory in straight sets over the helpless Finnish team.
Alexander Karikov, head coach of Russia: ”Finland is a very interesting team. Yesterday they beat Serbia and we did not want to let them make any more surprises. The serve and the block are the key factors for us in every match, and today the guys did great in both aspects.“
Pertti Honkanen, head coach of Finland: ”Russia is a strong team. This result is not surprising, we have to be realistic. We tried to do our best, but today Russia was impossible to beat.“
Maxim Troynin, Russian blocker: “It was not an easy game. We prepared well and because of that we won. We want to continue winning and that is why we are here.“
Sakari Makinen, captain of Finland: “The first set was our climax point of the match. We played well, but unfortunately we lost and after that we could not do much more. I think if we had played our best game, it would have been close, but, playing like this, it is impossible to beat them.“
Russia vs. Finland 3:0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-11)
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