POL vs RUS
Actually things were not that easy for the 2013 European and world champions from Russia who for the very first time since the start of the competition needed five sets to get the upper hand in their semifinal match with Italy (25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 24-26, and 15-13).
Russia’s superstar Victor Poletaev amassed 33 points all alone with middle blocker Maxim Troynin adding 17 to the count of the pre-favorites but Italy played superbly with Tiziano Mazzone and Sebastiano Milan contributing 21 and 19 points for their side. After missing out on a spot to compete at this year’s Youth Worlds, Italy will be playing for bronze on Friday for what would be a good way to round out the first international season for the group.
The 2013 European silver medalists – and bronze medal winners at the FIVB U19 World Champs held only a couple of weeks ago in Mexico – from Poland comfortably claimed their pass to the final match by routing Turkey in three straight sets (25-23, 25-19, and 26-24). The group mentored by head coach Wieslaw Czaja will hence round out an already memorable season with yet another medal from an international competition after the previous generation hadn’t qualified for the 2011 edition of the EYOF. Artur Szalpuk and Aleksander Sliwka were the most prolific players for Poland with 17 and 14 points respectively, with team captain Bartosz Bucko also finishing the game in double digits (11).
To read more similar news click National teams.
