2018 Men’s European Volleyball League Week 2 Update

2018 MEN’S EUROPEAN VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE

• May 19th-June 16th, 2018
• European Volleyball League Homepage

Five matches are down in pool play of the 2018 Men’s European Volleyball League, meaning just one remains for each nation. From there, things get whittled down to the Final Round, where a champion will emerge.

FORMAT:

In the 15th edition of the Men’s European Volleyball League, the tournament is split into two divisions: a 12-team Golden League and an eight-team Silver League. All teams are split into four-team pools for their division. In the Golden League, all three pool winner plus Czech Republic (or the team in second if they win their pool), the Final Round host, advance. In the Silver League, the winner of each pool, the next best team and host-Macedonia will advance to the last four.

Overall, this event acts as a qualifier for two teams to the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Challenger Cup, which provides an opportunity to make the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Nations League.

RESULTS:

Golden League

POOL A

The interest got amplified to the final day of Pool A coming on June 6 because of what happened on Sunday; that was a Belgium victory over Estonia – which was not only revenge but came in just three sets. Estonia still leads the pool based on points, but Belgium actually has a stronger set ratio, meaning if they win their finale against Sweden in four or less sets and Estonia loses or wins in five sets, the lead would switch. Unfortunately for the team that loses the pool, there won’t be a second chance at making the Final Four because the playoffs’ host (Czech Republic) cannot win Pool C, so the top second-place nation won’t advance.

Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Estonia	12	4	1	12	6	2.000	434	386	1.124
2	Belgium	11	4	1	13	6	2.167	446	412	1.083
3	Slovakia	4	1	4	6	13	0.462	424	444	0.955
4	Sweden	3	1	4	6	12	0.500	390	436	0.894

Schedule:

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
19 May	16:00	Sweden	1–3	Belgium	20–25	25–23	21–25	17–25		83–98	Report
19 May	18:00	Slovakia	1–3	Estonia	22–25	26–24	19–25	17–25		84–99	Report
23 May	18:00	Slovakia	3–1	Sweden	25–23	25–18	19–25	25–16		94–82	Report
23 May	20:00	Estonia	3–1	Belgium	25–16	25–20	27–29	25–17		102–82	Report
26 May	20:00	Estonia	3–1	Sweden	25–22	18–25	25–23	25–17		93–87	Report
26 May	20:30	Belgium	3–2	Slovakia	25–22	25–17	22–25	25–27	15–13	112–104	Report
30 May	20:00	Slovakia	0–3	Belgium	23–25	18–25	17–25			58–75	Report
30 May	20:00	Sweden	0–3	Estonia	17–25	17–25	20–25			54–75	Report
2 Jun	19:00	Sweden	3–0	Slovakia	27–25	32–30	25–21			84–76	Report
3 Jun	17:30	Belgium	3–0	Estonia	29–27	25–19	25–19			79–65	Report
6 Jun	20:00	Estonia	–	Slovakia	–	–	–			0–0	Report
6 Jun	20:30	Belgium	–	Sweden	–	–	–			0–0	Report

POOL B

Turkey did fall to Netherlands in five sets on Sunday, but they had already wrapped up the Pool B victory. That is because they have the set ratio won, which would be the tiebreaker after wins and points. Henceforth, even another Turkey loss (even in a sweep) with a Netherlands sweep victory on June 6 would put both teams at 4-2 (12 points), but the set ratio would be stronger for the Turkish side. That means they are off to the Final Four and the other members of Pool B will not be advancing.

Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Turkey	12	4	1	14	5	2.800	434	396	1.096
2	Netherlands	9	3	2	13	11	1.182	533	482	1.106
3	Ukraine	7	2	3	10	11	0.909	446	464	0.961
4	Slovenia	2	1	4	4	14	0.286	360	431	0.835

Schedule:

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
20 May	15:30	Turkey	3–0	Ukraine	25–23	25–23	25–20			75–66	Report
20 May	15:00	Netherlands	3–1	Slovenia	25–12	24–26	25–15	25–22		99–75	Report
23 May	15:30	Turkey	3–2	Netherlands	25–23	21–25	25–20	20–25	15–12	106–105	Report
23 May	18:00	Ukraine	3–0	Slovenia	25–23	25–23	25–18			75–64	Report
26 May	17:00	Netherlands	2–3	Ukraine	25–15	20–25	25–20	24–26	13–15	107–101	Report
27 May	20:00	Slovenia	0–3	Turkey	21–25	20–25	16–25			57–75	Report
30 May	15:30	Turkey	3–0	Slovenia	25–22	25–15	25–19			75–56	Report
30 May	20:00	Ukraine	2–3	Netherlands	25–22	17–25	20–25	25–23	10–15	97–110	Report
2 Jun	17:00	Netherlands	3–2	Turkey	24–26	25–21	25–22	23–25	15–9	112–103	Report
3 Jun	20:00	Slovenia	3–2	Ukraine	25–20	21–25	21–25	25–23	16–14	108–107	Report
6 Jun	20:00	Ukraine	–	Turkey	–	–	–			0–0	Report
6 Jun	20:00	Slovenia	–	Netherlands	–	–	–			0–0	Report

POOL C

On Sunday, the top two teams in Pool C met for the lead heading into the final match. In a thrilling five-setter, Portugal downed Finland, setting them up even closer to clinching the pool. In fact, they could even lose in their finale on June 6 to Czech Republic and still win Pool C if Finland lost or based on tiebreakers that would depend on points and sets. Still, their best bet is to just earn a win while Finland will be hoping for some help as one of the two will join Czech Republic, the hosts, in the Final Four.

Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Portugal	12	4	1	12	10	1.200	490	482	1.017
2	Finland	10	3	2	13	9	1.444	486	474	1.025
3	Czech Republic	7	2	3	9	11	0.818	458	452	1.013
4	Spain	4	1	4	8	12	0.667	442	468	0.944

Schedule:

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
19 May	15:00	Portugal	3–1	Spain	25–18	25–20	22–25	25–22		97–85	Report
19 May	19:00	Finland	3–0	Czech Republic	25–20	25–20	27–25			77–65	Report
23 May	20:00	Czech Republic	1–3	Finland	23–25	25–21	19–25	21–25		88–96	Report
23 May	20:45	Spain	3–0	Portugal	27–25	25–17	29–27			81–69	Report
26 May	19:00	Finland	2–3	Portugal	25–17	15–25	19–25	25–21	13–15	97–103	Report
26 May	19:00	Czech Republic	3–1	Spain	25–13	25–18	19–25	27–25		96–81	Report
30 May	18:00	Czech Republic	2–3	Portugal	25–19	25–19	27–29	21–25	13–15	111–107	Report
30 May	19:30	Finland	3–2	Spain	25–23	22–25	25–20	21–25	15–11	108–104	Report
3 Jun	18:00	Spain	1–3	Czech Republic	25–22	24–26	21–25	21–25		91–98	Report
3 Jun	17:00	Portugal	3–2	Finland	25–22	21–25	25–21	28–30	15–10	114–108	Report
6 Jun	18:30	Portugal	–	Czech Republic	–	–	–			0–0	Report
6 Jun	20:45	Spain	–	Finland	–	–	–			0–0	Report

Silver League

POOL A

Latvia remained unbeaten in the Silver League by taking down Macedonia on Sunday, setting up one final match with Austria on June 6 to wrap things up. While it would appear the match would be for the Pool A crown, there actually isn’t a way that Austria can work themselves ahead of Latvia. Even a sweep by Austria would put both teams at 5-1 with 15 points, but Latvia would have the set ratio still. That means they will join Macedonia in the Final Four as the Pool A champion.

Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Latvia	15	5	0	15	1	15.000	403	291	1.385
2	Austria	12	4	1	13	5	2.600	439	369	1.190
3	Macedonia	3	1	4	5	13	0.385	400	443	0.903
4	Kosovo	0	0	5	1	15	0.067	246	395	0.623

Schedule:

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
19 May	17:30	Austria	1–3	Latvia	21–25	25–21	17–25	22–25		85–96	Report
20 May	16:30	Kosovo	1–3	Macedonia	25–20	16–25	17–25	14–25		72–95	Report
23 May	17:30	Kosovo	0–3	Austria	18–25	12–25	17–25			47–75	Report
23 May	19:30	Latvia	3–0	Macedonia	25–17	25–16	25–19			75–52	Report
26 May	18:00	Latvia	3–0	Kosovo	25–12	25–8	25–14			75–34	Report
27 May	20:30	Macedonia	1–3	Austria	18–25	25–22	20–25	31–33		94–105	Report
30 May	17:00	Kosovo	0–3	Latvia	21–25	9–25	20–25			50–75	Report
30 May	20:15	Austria	3–1	Macedonia	25–20	23–25	26–24	25–20		99–89	Report
2 Jun	20:15	Austria	3–0	Kosovo	25–11	25–12	25–20			75–43	Report
3 Jun	20:15	Macedonia	0–3	Latvia	26–28	27–29	17–25			70–82	Report
6 Jun	19:30	Latvia	–	Austria	–	–	–			0–0	Report
6 Jun	20:15	Macedonia	–	Kosovo	–	–	–			0–0	Report

POOL B

For the first time, Croatia fell in a match in pool play, as Belarus earned a victory to keep themselves alive in the pool. That means the final day of action will have key implications, were both teams will be looking for a full amount of points and an improvement to their other tiebreakers – set and point ratio – which currently favors Croatia. Neither team plays a juggernaut next, but Croatia’s is a bit tougher. In the first go around, Croatia downed Albania 3-0 (75-59 in total points) with Belarus defeating Hungary 3-0 (75-50 in points). If those results doubled, Croatia would still claim the Pool B victory based on a better point ratio. Of course, the best second-place team between Pool A and Pool B also advances, so the loser will be cheering hard for Latvia in the pool finales.

Matches		Pts	Sets			Points
Rank	Team		W	L	W	L	Ratio	W	L	Ratio
1	Croatia	12	4	1	13	4	3.250	400	329	1.216
2	Belarus	12	4	1	13	4	3.250	399	345	1.157
3	Albania	4	1	4	5	13	0.385	384	431	0.891
4	Hungary	2	1	4	4	14	0.286	352	430	0.819

Schedule:

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
19 May	20:00	Croatia	3–0	Hungary	25–12	25–16	25–14			75–42	Report
20 May	18:00	Belarus	3–0	Albania	25–23	25–23	25–21			75–67	Report
23 May	16:00	Hungary	1–3	Albania	25–22	21–25	21–25	23–25		90–97	Report
23 May	19:00	Belarus	1–3	Croatia	25–21	17–25	19–25	20–25		81–96	Report
26 May	17:00	Croatia	3–0	Albania	25–15	25–23	25–21			75–59	Report
26 May	19:00	Belarus	3–0	Hungary	25–17	25–18	25–15			75–50	Report
30 May	18:30	Hungary	0–3	Croatia	17–25	19–25	18–25			54–75	Report
30 May	20:00	Albania	0–3	Belarus	17–25	22–25	14–25			53–75	Report
2 Jun	19:00	Albania	2–3	Hungary	26–28	19–25	25–21	29–27	9–15	108–116	Report
2 Jun	20:00	Croatia	1–3	Belarus	25–18	17–25	16–25	21–25		79–93	Report
6 Jun	16:00	Hungary	–	Belarus	–	–	–			0–0	Report
6 Jun	20:00	Albania	–	Croatia	–	–	–			0–0	Report