Belgium, Slovenia Sweep to Set Up Sunday Showdown

2018 FIVB World Championship – Men’s European Qualifier

• May 23 to June 4
• Results

Slovenia and Belgium will battle for a spot in the World Championships tomorrow after each moved to 4-0 in Pool C with sweeps on Saturday. The loser of that match will have to advance through the third round of qualifying in order to make the championships.

Slovenia topped Israel, while Belgium downed Latvia. Portugal also registered a sweep of Georgia.

Portugal 3, Georgia 0

After a back and forth exchange to start the match, Portugal made quick work of Georgia in a 25-19, 25-16, 25-14 win featuring eight blocks and a 64 percent hitting effort.  

Georgia led 8-7 at the first break of Set 1, but Portugal scored nine of the next 14 points to take a 16-13 lead en route to the 25-19 win. Twelve Georgian miscues aided the Portuguese in the opening stanza.

Portugal hit a 68 percent clip in a 25-16 Set 2 victory and hit at a stellar 88 percent clip in Set 3, committing just one hitting miscue.

Afonso Guerreiro and Joao Simoes tallied 15 points apiece, including 12 kills each, to lead Portugal. Valdir Sequeira added 13 points, including 11 kills and two blocks.

Badri Nutsubidze topped Georgia with eight points.

Slovenia 3, Israel 0

Slovenia remained perfect in pool play, steamrolling Israel 25-11, 25-14, 25-10 with help from a 20-point effort by Alen Sket and 10-point performances by two others.

Sket downed 18 kills, while Toncek Stern and Danijel Koncilja chipped in 10 point apiece. Stern registered eight kills, while Koncilja added three aces and a pair of blocks.

As a team, Slovenia hit at a 69 percent clip, led by Koncilja’s 5-for-5 effort.

Slovenia led the match nearly wire to wire,  utilizing four aces in the final set 25-10 win.

Israel got six points out of Dmitri Zemlianukhin to lead the charge. The Israeli squad managed just two blocks and did not tally an ace in the match.

Belgium 3, Latvia 0

Latvia did not make it easy for Belgium to edge through Saturday unscathed, but could not overcome 24 errors in the match. Belgium led Set 1 and 2 throughout, but Latvia boasted an 8-7 lead and stayed close at 16-15 midway through the final set. Belgium answered with five of the next seven points to push ahead in the 25-21 match clincher.

Belgium outblocked Latvia 10-6 and served up five aces to Latvia’s four, but it was the 24 errors that doomed the underdog. Belgium gave away just 16 points on errors.

Bram Van Den Dries put up 14 points, including 11 kills and three blocks. Ruben Van Hirtum added 10 points, including two aces.

Reinis Pekmans paced Latvia with 10 points. Rusians Sorokins added nine, including six kills, two blocks and an ace.

Pool C in SLO