2017 FIVB BOYS’ U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- August 18th-28th
- Riffa and Isa Town, Bahrain
- Schedule
- Teams
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Day 5
- Round of 16
- Quarterfinals
- Semifinals
- Finals and Bronze Medal
- Event page
USA captain Joel Schneidmiller led all scorers on the floor with 12 points, but it wasn’t enough for Team USA, who suffered from injuries sustained to its players during the match, to hang with the French squad, as they forged a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-20). Celesti Cardin scored 11 points while Pierre Derouillon contributed another 10 points for France’s win.
The European side showed steady play in the match, setting up Cardin and Derouillon at the wings. They ran their offence with much consistency, even against the USA’s tall front line . Every time Team USA tried to pick up its tempo, France was quick to react on defense. The European side provided a brilliant display on reception and connected with eight block points. The USA team, as they , tried to put up a gallant fight in the third set.
Here are the post match reactions:
France coach Belmadi Slimane: We took the time to observe the playing style of United States. We were a bit afraid of their tall spikers, but we knew that if we could work hard on reception and service, then we can give them some difficulty in attack. In the wings, it will be easier for us to play. They utilize the pipe a lot, but without this working for them, it was manageable for us. Today, my players did a good job.
France captain Lucas Soldner: We planned to play today as we have from previous matches by keeping the same team spirit. We want to play every single game as if it were the final. We want to win a medal in this championship. If possible, we want the gold one.
USA coach Samuel Shweisky: A lot of respect goes out to France, as they are a talented team, and a very well-coached team with skilled players. We were a little disappointed with how we played in the beginning of the first set. It was hard to get some better energy and we realized that they were very good but we could compete with them. I do not want to blame the injuries but it definitely affected us. We made some adjustments. We tried to stay focused and kept on improving but when you have some injury disadvantages and against a vey good team, it’s hard. But I was very pleased because even with all that we came close. We just want to look at the positives and take them into the next matches
USA captain Joel Schneidmiller: I thought it was a good test for us to overcome the adversity of those two injuries. I thought we stayed together as a team for the most part. It’s usually easy to fall apart when that happens. I thought we had good energy and that’s something positive that I want to take from this match.
Below, you’ll find updated brackets and recaps from today’s action:
Championship Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
 Japan |
3 | |||||||||||||
 Puerto Rico |
0 | |||||||||||||
| Japan |
||||||||||||||
 Czech Republic |
||||||||||||||
 Argentina |
1 | |||||||||||||
| Czech Republic |
3 | |||||||||||||
 France |
3 | |||||||||||||
 United States |
0 | |||||||||||||
| France |
||||||||||||||
 Russia |
||||||||||||||
| Russia |
3 | |||||||||||||
| 27 August | ||||||||||||||
 China |
1 | |||||||||||||
 Iran |
3 | |||||||||||||
 Turkey |
0 | |||||||||||||
| Iran |
||||||||||||||
 Brazil |
||||||||||||||
 Bahrain |
0 | |||||||||||||
| Brazil |
3 | |||||||||||||
 Italy |
0 | |||||||||||||
 South Korea |
3 | |||||||||||||
| South Korea |
||||||||||||||
 Egypt |
||||||||||||||
| Egypt |
3 | |||||||||||||
 Cuba |
2 | |||||||||||||
FIVB Recaps
Czech Republic x Argentina
Marek Sotola topped all scorers to push the Czech Republic to a 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21) win over Argentina. Sotola helped out on offence and defense with 18 attacks and two blocks for the Czech Republic, then Jan Svoboda and Lukas Vasina added 16 and 15 points, respectively. Luciano Palonsky and Federico Seia were Argentina’s top two scorers, who made 14 and 13 points on a losing effort.
The Czech Republic patiently ran their offence and succeeded with two-straight set wins after Argentina suffered from late breakdowns in each set. Argentina played with better control to secure the third set win, but the Czech Republic showed great determination and led all throughout to win set and match.
Here are the post match reactions:
Czech Republic coach Jiri Zach: We made a good technical preparation for this match. The players were very active and they fulfilled their tasks. Argentina are a very good team and they made very little mistakes. There is only a small difference in technical abilities between them and our players. We felt very good and we were very aggressive in the first two sets.
Czech Republic captain Ondrej Piskacek: We worked hard to prepare for this match. We played really good defense and that allowed us to make successful attacks. We accomplished the first step of making it to the quarterfinals. This really feels like the European Championship. We have not won yet, but we are glad that we are able to reach this stage. We will do this step by step.
Argentina coach Luis Testa: We started equally in the first two sets, but they still managed to win against us. We got back but then we lacked the fire in the fourth set. We had a problem in reception and attack, therefore we encountered a lot of errors in this match.
Russia x China
Stanislav Antonov and Pavel Tetyukhin delivered four aces each in Russia’s 3-1 (22-25, 25-12, 25-16, 25-13) win over China. Antonov top scored for Russia with 20 points, then Tetyukhin added 18. China’s Cong Tian scored 11 points, then Ao Li, and Qi Qi contributed 10 points apiece. Russia had a superb performance from the service line as they outscored China with a total of 14 aces. China were rewarded with the opening set win, after outscoring Russia in attacks. The Russians claimed the next three sets after they applied pressure on the serve and their blocks limited their rivals on the attack.
Here are the post match reactions:
Russia coach Andrey Nozdrin: We had so many mistakes in this match, but the China committed more mistakes. We had some difficulty in the first set because of their quickness that is why we made some adjustments and served hard against them in the succeeding sets.
Russia captain Konstantin Abaev: We played a great match as China are good opponents. They played a very good first set against our team and we lost that set because we had many mistakes in reception. After that, we had better service, defence and block to win the match.
China coach Wang Haichuan: Russia have a very big advantage over our team. Our players are very nervous today. We did react to the small details, while Russia served very well. They served very strong against our team that is why they won the game.
China captain Cong Tian: We wanted to win this match badly, but our opponents are very good. There was no chance to win against them.
Iran x Turkey
Iran imposed a straight-sets win against Turkey (25-18, 25-21, 25-13) behind Porya Yali‘s 16 points while captain Amirhossein Esfandiar helped out with 11. Turkey’s Adis Lagumdzija led the European side with 12 points. The Asian side powered through the match with their dominance on all fronts, scoring off 34 attacks, nine blocks and nine service aces. Turkey had the ability to play in the same level but they could not set up their offence with much precision and consistency. They mostly found difficulty in passing the ball, and in moments when they could do so, their opponents were quick to react on defense. Both sides possessed a powerful front line but it was a good balance on offence and defense that spelled the difference for Iran.
Here are the post match reactions:
Iran coach Reza Farjad: Turkey is a very strong team, we think they are one of the top contenders. I can say there are five or six teams here that are really playing in such a high level. Every team has a chance to win a medal. We just want to keep preparing and trying because we want to win.
Iran captain Amirhossein Esfandiar: This was a very good match that we knew from the start would be a difficult one. We have observed two of their key players and strategist against them. We gave all of our energy in this match so we could win.
Turkey captain Adis Lagumdzija: In the beginning of the first two sets, I thought we played well. But then Iran started playing with some adjustments that we could not work on. We could not play in the way that we started. The third set was a disaster, as if we could not do anything. I think reception was our biggest enemy. After 15 points, we were not able to receive well, and it was just impossible to pass and attack. We will playing for the 9th to 16th places and we hope to play as best as we can.
Japan x Puerto Rico
Japan got their fifth consecutive win in the tournament with a straight-sets match against Puerto Rico (25-17, 25-16, 25-21). Captain Kento Miyaura and Tatsunori Otsuka headed Japan’s scoring output with 13 points each. Setter Shunsuke Nakamura’s brilliant orchestration spelled the difference for the team’s collective effort on offence.
The Asian side went to work in their known capability of running speedy plays. Puerto Rico had the firepower to address their opponents’ primary strength. The Norceca side showed they could deliver heavy kills and work hard on blocks but the Asian side were also quick and nimble on defense. The Japanese side completed the match with 39 digs to annex their 48 points on attack, compared to Puerto Rico’s 27 successful spikes.
Here are the post match reactions:
Japan coach Hiroshi Honda: Today, we had a very important match against Puerto Rico. I am very happy with how the players performed. Good motivation and good attitude against pressure gave us good results.
Japan captain Kento Miyaura: As captain of this team, I want to keep our spirits high. When we have difficult moments, or when our level of play goes down, I talk to them and cheer as a way to motivate the team.
Puerto Rico coach Juan Albarran: The Japanese have a very tall middle blocker and their opposite attacks so well. They are a team that can limit their errors. They defend so well and they play with a lot of patience.
Puerto Rico captain Gabriel Garcia: Most of the players in our team are new and they have not quite experienced to play against a fast team. This is new for them but this is a part of the process and we should get ready for it. We can learn that our team’s style of playing is not the only kind of volleyball. There are so many styles of volleyball around the world, that can better and faster. That is what motivates us to keep growing as a team and as players to just be good in doing what we love.
Brazil x Bahrein
Brazil bested hosts Bahrain in a straight-sets match (25-14, 25-15, 25-18). Welinton Oppenkoski was Brazil’s top scorer with 16 points from 12 attacks, two blocks, and two service aces. Victor Cardoso and Arthur Nath also figured in double-digits with 14 points and 12 points respectively. Brazil imposed their brand of offence on the host team, running their plays quickly and cohesively. The South American side also utilized much pressure on their serve, making their opponents extend the effort to receive and pass the ball. Brazil also dominated in blocks, converting a total nine blocks from deflections, to annex their 42 points on attack and nine points off serves. With victory over the hosts, the Brazilian team earned the right to the quarter-final phase of the competition.
Here are the post match reactions:
Brazil coach Leonardo Carvalho: We always try to explain to the players that the most important thing in the competition is the mentality, more than the body. We came with good physical preparation. We are in a good condition to play maybe 10 matches in a row. But the good things should start in the mind. If we do not have the right frame of mind during the decisive moments of the match, then we may not be able to succeed.
Brazil captain Joao Franck: It was a great experience to play in this gymnasium, full of spectators cheering for our opponents. Our team played with the main goal to win, and we must achieve this goal despite any kind of challenge or distraction.
Bahrain coach Yusuf Khalifa: Brazil respected our team so much by sending their strongest players on the court today. They played with strong service and were very organised with their blocking. Of course, this is Brazil. They are never an easy team to play against. But I am happy to say that the positive learning for this team, plainly, is that they were able to play against Brazil. This way, we have the opportunity to look into our weaknesses and we can deliver better results in the future.
Korea x Italy
Im Donghyeok and Kim Sunho each scored 14 points to lead Korea to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-13) win over Italy. Korea limited their errors to nine against Italy’s 27 turnovers. The Asian squad had 39 attacks, including 12 attacks each from Donghyeok and Sunho. They also led with 24 digs against Italy’s eight.
Korea played in an almost seamless manner with a few errors and a lot of great digs that made it tough for Italy to overcome in the first two sets. Korean Kim Sunho and Italian Daniele Lavia had a scoring showdown in scoring, but Korea’s 20-8 lead in the third set got in the way of the Italians to make a comeback. The Asian side completed the straight-set win at 25-13.
Here are the post match reactions:
Korea captain Choi Ikje: We played with teamwork. A lot of Asian teams perform better in youth competitions because of good basic skills. The three basic skills like reception, digging and service are the things that we needed to perform in this match. These are the things that make Asian teams play well in the World Championship. Since the European teams have the height advantage over us, we had to play the basics correctly.
Korea coach Park Wongil: We analysed Italy’s game well yesterday and that led us to this win. My players did an excellent job in following my instructions to them.
Italy coach Mario Barbiero: Italy didn’t play their game, while Korea played a strong match on service, defense and attack.
Italy captain Daniele Lavia: We did not play in this match very well. We had so many mistakes and we just allowed our opponents to play their game.
Egypt x Cuba
Youssef Awad (Elsafy) recorded 32 points in Egypt’s 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-10) win over Cuba. Elsafy’s 32 points were built on 28 attacks and four blocks that lifted Egypt in their great comeback. Cuban Lazaro Llanes also had 32 points, but the team’s 34 errors figured in their loss.
Elsafy commanded Egypt to a first set win, while Llanes dominated on offence for Cuba in the second frame. Llanes still led Cuba on the attack to make it two set-wins in a row. Egypt bounced back and forced a tie-breaker, then carried their momentum to the next set as they started a 4-0 run. Cuba committed some costly attack turnovers that gave away set and match to the African side.
Here are the post match reactions:
Egypt captain George Bakhit: I am happy to be in the top eight. I am glad that we hit our target. We have a great team that played against a tough team in a very difficult match.
Egypt coach Nehad Shehata: I told my players that to become stars in this sport, they must know how to play against star teams. I have a very good team and they listened to my instructions very well in this match.
Cuba coach Jesus Lopez: All we had to do was win and we didn’t play well in the end. It is very important to play and be decisive, but the players weren’t decisive and that caused us this match.
17th–20th places
Mexico x Tunisia
Mexico registered their first win of the tournament as they claimed a 3-2 (25-18, 25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 15-11) victory in a play-off for 17th – 20th place against Tunisia. Mexico’s Axel Tellez led all scorers with 21 points from 14 attacks, four blocks and three service aces, while captain Raymond Stephens added another 20 points.
Yassine Abdelhedi led the Tunisian side with 20 points in the match. The Norceca side got off to a strong start by getting their offensive rhythm going. They executed their plays well, besting their opponents in attack. Tunisia tried to improve their play in the next sets, as they grew more aggressive in both offence and defense. Meanwhile, Mexico were not able to retain the same level of precision. They suffered from errors to extend the match to a fifth set. In the decider, the Mexican side restored their good coordination on court. While Tunisia were eagerly trying to play at par, the Mexicans took charge of the closing plays to win their first match in the competition.
Here are the post match reactions:
Mexico coach Gabriela Isela: When we needed to go to the fifth set, I think it was more of a battle against ourselves. We needed to be consistent and stable but we had too many errors.
Mexico captain Raymond Stephens: As the captain, the was a bit of pressure especially when we lost the third set. In the fourth set, we needed to react quickly, and I needed to really be the leader. We needed to work more to make the adjustments, but we also lost. In the fifth set, I needed to give a lot more encouragement and confidence to everyone in the team.
Tunisia coach Chokri Bouzidi: This is the first time we have played against Mexico. It was a hard match for sure, but we tried our best even when we were two sets down. We want to keep playing so we could just continue improving.
Poland x Chile
Esteban Mulchi helped Chile with 14 points to earn their first victory in the tournament, beating Polad 3-1 (28-26, 13-25, 25-21, 25-18). Mulchi led all Chilean scorers with 14 points, including 13 attacks and one ace. Alex Rusch and Vicente Mardones helped out with 11 points apiece to complete the four-set Chilean win. Poland’s Remegiusz Kapica topped all scorers with 26 points. The European squad led in attacks, blocks and aces, but suffered with 33 errors in the match.
Chile recorded their very first set-win in the tournament, where a block and a Polish attack error sealed their win at 28-26. Kapica found his offensive rhythm that commanded a 25-13 win for Poland. The third set breaks favored Chile as Poland struggled on their reception. Chile started the third set with a 5-0 run and carried that momentum to gain their match win in four sets.
Here are the post match reactions:
Chile coach Ivan Villarreal: I am so proud of my team. They played in all aspects of the game very well. Poland are a powerhouse team and we are happy to win against them. The players had great rest and they were able to free their minds. This is a very special win because this will help in the growth of my team. We hope to put our best work tomorrow against Tunisia.
Chile captain Joaquin Leon: I am so happy and excited for this victory. Poland are very difficult and strong opponents. We are so happy to win against a former winner of this championship. So this was really a great victory for us.
Poland player Remegiusz Kapica: We played very bad. I think I could have played better. I feel bad that I could not help my team. In the next match, we have to have more focus and be better at everything.
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