Pool B Concludes Day 1 With Four Set Wins At Men’s European Qualifier

2018 FIVB World Championship – Men’s European Qualifier

• May 23-28
• Results

The first day of the 2018 FIVB World Championships Men’s European Qualifier has concluded for Pool B in the Netherlands- which started one day before the other pools. All of the matches went to four sets, with Austria, Greece and the Netherlands coming out on top.

Austria def. Slovakia

• 3-1, (27-25, 26-24, 19-25, 25-20)

The Austrian squad had a challenge getting through Slovakia in the first round with the first two sets of the match going into extra points. They faltered in the third to drop a set, giving the Slovakians a glimpse of hope in the match, but Austria turned it around in the fourth set to take the match.

Leading the match was Paul Buchegger of Austria with 23 total points, with 22 of them coming off kills. Nicolai Grabmüller added a match-best four blocks in the match while Slokavia’s Stefan Chrtiansky Jr put down two aces.

Greece def. The Republic of Moldova

• 3-1, (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 28-26)

Greece had to fight back from a first-set loss to take the match in four sets, with a 20-25 setback. They came back out strong the next two sets to take the lead in the match, but the final set of the match was a tough competition with the score going into extra points. Greece eventually came out on top 28-26 to take the match.

Greece’s Mitar Tzourits led the field with 29 points, with 26 coming off kills.

The Netherlands def. Luxembourg

• 3-1, (22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-15)

The host team of the Netherlands faced a minor setback in the first set to fall to a 0-1 deficit over Luxembourg. The Dutch squad came out strong the final three sets of the match to win in four.

Leading the winning squad was Michael Parkinson and Kay van Dijk, each putting down 12 points. The point’s leader of the match was from the Luxembourg side as Kamil Rychlicki was able to secure 17 points with 12 coming off kills.

Pool B Standings