Men’s volleyball: First matches played on the scorching sand at Jarun

GROUP F

These days, courts at Jarun Lake are reserved for beach volleyball. Teams of Group F were the first to set their feet on the hot sand: the University of Ljubljana faced the University of Vilnius, who snatched the victory with 21:14 and 21:12.

Right next to them, the usually excellent volleyball players from the University of Zagreb played against the Italians from the University of Camerino, winning both sets (21:10, 21:12). Zagreb is known for its strong performances. The home boys, apart from snatching a victory at the UniSport Finals in Poreč two years in a row, played at Poreč Major Tournament, and this game was a ‘piece of cake’ for them.

In the first game, it was the Lithuanians who won again. Just to remind you, their basketball players went home with gold, and it seems basketball is not the only sport they’re good at. At the beginning of the game, it seemed like Ljubljana still had a chance, but as time went by, it became clearer who was dominant on the sand. The inspired Lithuanians won the first set with a 7-point difference, and the second with a 9-point difference.

GROUP G

The Polish University of Lodz 1 and Riga Stradiņš University stepped out onto the sand as well, while the match and between the University of Ankara and from VU University Amsterdam was played at the adjacent court. In the first game, the victory went into the hands of the Poles, who won 2:0, while the Dutch won the second match with the same score. The winning teams from Poland and Amsterdam had ten-point leads at some point in their matches, and their opponents couldn’t find the strength to turn the score around.

GROUP H

The University of Mainz had a great start at the competition, winning against the University of Warsaw. In that game, the Germans were convincingly better, notching a 2:0 win. The Germans took both sets with 21:15.

Two top teams in the group, the Polytechnic Institute of Porto and the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wroclaw played each other. Although they had great support from the stands, the Poles proved no match the Portuguese, losing 2:0 (21:18, 21:19). The Wroclaw team had numerous opportunities to turn the match around, but the Portuguese stopped them with their blocks, finally winning this attractive game with the seemingly easy score of 2:0.

GROUP I

The teams from the University of Linz and from the University of Lodz faced in the second afternoon game. The Lodz team left the court with their heads bowed, since they had lost the game which was tense and even till the very end. After their good play and a 1:0 lead after the first set, the team from Austria stagnated and let their opponent tie the score. The third set saw an overtime, in which the University of Linz won 19:17, after a double mistake by the Polish. The best Linz player of the match, Florian Schnetzer, made a short comment on the game:

‘We played against excellent opponents, who were especially well-coordinated today, which finally led to overtimes, where we had a bit more luck. It is a great feeling to open such a great tournament in Zagreb with a win.’

The boys from the University of Split had no luck on the first day of competition and the win went into the hands of the Norwegians, with the score of 2:1. They fought for three sets under the afternoon sun, but at the end, the volleyball players from the north were the ones to win first points.

GROUP J

On the central court, the spectators had the opportunity to see a match full of turnarounds and good moves as the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology clashed with Tampere University of Technology, who won 1:2 in sets. The Finnish team had a better start and finished the first set with 14:21. The Israeli started the second set with more determination, changing their tactics and winning the set 21:15. After the initial lead, and a surprise by the Israeli team, the team from Tampere University of Technology adapted to their opponent’s play, pulling off some great actions and winning the match.

‘The game was exhausting, the opponents were great, but we proved that we can adapt to any game style. We are happy to have managed to open the tournament with a victory and I hope this will be wind beneath our wings to help us reach the next stage of competition,’ stated Finnish representative Arttu Petteri Perello, who played a great match today.

At the same time, the University of Mainz and from the University of Warsaw fought on the third court. The Germans were better, winning 2:0. The result was the same in both sets – 21:15 for Mainz.

Results