2017 CEV EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – MEN
- August 24-September 3
- Poland
- Tournament Central
- Watch on Youtube
- Live Scoring
Dmitry Kovalev, the captain of the Russian men’s volleyball team, won’t participate at the 2017 European Championships.
When the federation announced its team for the tournament that begins Thursday, the 26-year old setter, who has been on the Russian National Team since 2014, was noticeably absent.
Kovalev played for Russia at the World League in June, scoring 25 points and ranking as the 12th-best setter with 1.97 assists/set.
Kovalev underwent surgery immediately upon returning home from the World League after the Final 6 to deal with inflammation and scar tissue in his legs.
At the time, he said he didn’t know how long the surgery would take, but his rehab will keep him out
“Unfortunately, Dmitry Kovalev will not be able to help the team because of the surgery. But I will not give the name of his replacement in the team nor the full list of the squad. I’ll let it remain secret for the time being because we are not the only who read the Russian media, our rivals do too” said Russian coach Sergey Shlyapnikov. “We have a medal-worthy team and for Russia, that’s the only option. The Federation has not set any mandates for us, but we must strive for our own goals. ”
On Tuesday, that official team was released, and veterans Alexander Butko and Sergey Grankin, both in their 30s, were the team’s two named setters. No starter has been declared yet, and neither player participated in the World League. The 32-year old Grankin was the team’s starter at last year’s Olympic Games, where Russia finished 4th without Kovalev on the roster.
Russia will open their tournament on Thursday against Bulgaria in Szczecin, Poland. They play in Pool C, which also houses Slovenia and Spain. The top team in each of 4 pools automatically qualifies to the quarterfinals. The 2nd and 3rd place teams will move to a play-in game for the right to face those pool winners in a single-elimination knockout draw.
Russia’s 2017 EuroVolley Roster
- Setters: Alexander Butko, Sergey Grankin
- Opposites: Maxim Zhigalov, Maxim Mikhailov
- Middle Blockers: Andrey Ashev, Ilya Vlasov, Artem Volvich, Ilyas Kurkaev
- Outside Hitters: Yuri Berezhko, Dmitry Volkov, Egor Kljuka, Yegor Feoktistov
- Liberos: Valentin Golubev, Roman Martyniuk
Leave a Reply