Two semifinalists of the men’s volleyball tournament at the European Universities Games are known, after the quarterfinal matches were held today at Trnsko. The University of Niš and Northumbria University were the first to enter the semis; Niš triumphed over the home team from the University of Zagreb 3:0, while Northumbira beat Technical University in Munich 3:2.
‘We usually don’t complain about the referees, but in these last three days it was like we’re not playing at home but away, judging from the referees’ serious mistakes at our expense. We had a set point, and a foot fault was called, although that player was at the first line. This was our set, and after that we fell both physically and mentally, as it was difficult to endure all this. Our opponents started playing even better and it tourned out the way it did. I hope we will achieve a good ranking as no one believed in us. We weren’t even assigned a coach, we have done everything by oureselves as we wanted to show we could do it. I hope we’ll at least win fifth place,’ said Mate Glaudrić from the Unviersity of Zagreb.
‘This quarterfinal was another good game for us. We play better and better as the tournament progresses. We have improved a lot, we play diverse attacks through the middle and through various combinations. The next match is the semi-final. We’re waiting for the winner between Spain and Portugal. I hope we’ll continue in this good pace and that the good atmosphere in the team will live on,’ said one Niš player.
Northumbria and Munich played a tense, dramatic match. It was 1:1, then 2:2, and it ended 3:2 for Nothumbria.
‘This was a tough game for us. We had the advantage at first, but we lost as the opponents played very well. They deserved the win, we had no strength left,’ said Munich coach Janchowicz after the defeat.
‘It was a great match, with five difficult and lengthy sets. We held well against a very tough opponent. The boys were coordinated and played well. We enjoyed this and we’re ready for the semi-final’, said Northumbria player Andy Clayton.
The University of Almeria triumphed over the University of Porto 3:1 (25:18, 25:23, 22:25, 25:14), securing their spot in the semi-final. The second set was especially tense to; it ended 25:23 to the Spanish. The Portuguese struck back in the following set, using Almeria’s weak spots. However, the Spanish didn’t allow the Portuguese to perform a comeback, securing both the fourth set and the match.
“The Portuguese are a very good team and they fought well, but we have good players. We’re very happy to make it to the semi-finals. We’ll play the Serbian team, who are very good, but we expect to win’, said Carlos Gonzales, player of the University of Almeria.
Unviersity Sophia Antipolis in Nice beat the University of Wurzburg 3:0 (25:15, 25:20, 25:16). The French were dominant from the very start, and although the Germans were good, it was not enough for them to win. The French have thus secured the semi-final and they will fight for the medals.
‘We got off to a good start. We put a lot of pressure on them and played with ease because of that. We expect to win in the semi-final, although it will be difficult as the team from England is good’ said the French player Thibault Brauckert.
Results
