Czech volleyball players failed to beat the world champions and will not play the semi-finals of the European Championship

On Wednesday evening, the Czech national team entered the quarterfinal match of the European Women’s Volleyball Championship as a clear underdog. The opponents from Serbia confirmed their assumptions in Brussels and advanced, although the first set brought a surprising result.

The Czechs finished second in Group C and will face the Ukrainians in Monday’s semi-final. The selection of Greek coach Giannis Athanasopoulos handled the five-set drama victoriously, winning the tiebreak 15:12.

The Serbian reigning champions of the last two World Championships have been sovereign so far in the tournament. They have won all five of their group matches, losing only two sets. In the eighth round, the Swedes declined 25:17, 25:13 and 25:16.

In the opening act of the quarter-finals they had much more trouble. The set culminated in a thrilling ending, which went better for the Czech team. The team of captain Michaela Mlejnková won 26:24 after the second set point.

But in the next game the Balkan team confirmed its dominance. They tied the score at 1:1 thanks to a 25:17 partial victory and then turned the score around with the help of their smashing skills.

The Czech players were also troubled by the good defense of their opponents, including the hits of the blockers. The Serbians took the third set 25:11. They entered the fourth set with five points in a row and the Czechs could not turn it around. Coach Giovanni Guidetti’s squad capitalized on the second match point for the final 25:14.

Tijana Bošković was the best attacking Serbian volleyball player in the match, scoring a total of 33 points. On the other hand, the experienced Helena Havelkova, who has returned to six-man volleyball from the beach volleyball she has been playing recently as part of her successful career, did not fare as well.

The winners of the other quarter-finals only needed to play three sets. The Dutch beat the Bulgarians, the defending champions from Italy beat the French and the Turks beat the Poles. The same countries will fight for the medals as two years ago. The specific line-up for this year’s semi-final matches is Italy-Turkey and Netherlands-Serbia.

The Women’s European Championships will come to a climax in the Belgian capital. The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, the bronze medal match and the final on Sunday. In contrast, the men’s European championship is just beginning.

The Czechs belong to the preliminary group C, played in Skopje. They will enter the tournament on Thursday at 8pm, when they will challenge the world runners-up from Poland. They will then face Denmark, the Netherlands, Montenegro and hosts North Macedonia.

Source: CEV, CT Sport