The Czech volleyball players did not defend the quarter-finals of the EC, losing 0:3 to Serbia in the round of 16

Illustration photo – Czech volleyball coach Jiří Novák.

Bari (Italy) – The Czech volleyball players did not defend their quarter-finals at the 2021 European Championship. In the round of 16 in Bari, Italy, they lost to favored Serbia 0:3 after sets 21:25, 24:26 and 9:25 p.m. The deciding factor was the submission. The Serbian volleyball players pressed at the beginning of the games, the Czech representatives often made mistakes behind the end line. They had a total of seventeen corrupt services.

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In the first set, because of this, Jiří Novák's men lost 10:16. Then they came close several times to a difference of two points, but it was not enough to turn things around. They had the best hope for success in the second set, when they equalized at 21:21 at the beginning of the end. They didn't even get a set ball. On the contrary, the Serbs converted their second when they blocked the all-rounder Marek Šotola.

Blocker Josef Polák acknowledged that this was where the match was apparently breaking. “Unfortunately, we didn't win the second set in the end, the match could have looked different,” noted the author of nine points in a recording for the media. The scorer Jan Galabov and Šotola, who was replaced by Jan Hadrava in the third set, had the same score.

However, even his arrival on the board did not reverse the duel. The Serbians once again had the upper hand and, just like at the European Championship 2019, eliminated the Czech team in the round of 16. “I think it was a good performance from all of us, a good match. Unfortunately, the Serbians were better and had that little bit extra to beat us in every set,” added Polák.

Coach Novák was not with today's satisfied with the performance. “A 3-0 defeat is a 3-0 defeat. We lacked a bit of precision, a calmer head on the serve. We didn't give ourselves many chances to do something about it in quotation marks, even though we were not far behind by one set,” he regretted.

While two years ago in Ostrava, the Czech volleyball players surprised the Olympic champions from France in the round of 16, this time there was no surprise. Thus, the Czech Republic was eliminated at the men's EC one round earlier than at the recent women's championship. “On the one hand, I'm glad that we managed the matches with direct competitors for promotion. On the other hand, against the teams ahead of us, it was a bit lacking,” the coach summarized the Czech performance in Skopje and Bari.

At the end of the representative season, his team is still waiting for the Olympic qualification, which will start in about three weeks.

The round of 16 of the European Volleyball Championship in Bari (Italy):

Serbia – Czech Republic 3:0 (21 , 24, 21)

Referee: Sarikaya (Tur.), Valentar (Slovenia). Time: 88 min. Spectators: 3215.

Composition and points Czech Republic: Janouch 3, Vašina 7, Zajíček 7, Šotola 9, Galabov 9, Polák 9, libera Moník/Pfeffer – Licek 1, Hadrava 6, Serb. Coach: Novák.

Most points of Serbia: Atanasijević 14, Perič 13, Kujundžič 9.

21:00 Poland – Belgium.