The house draw for the 2023 European Men’s Volleyball Championship was held this evening (Wednesday) in Naples and the house to be hosted by Israel was also drawn, which received an interesting and challenging placement. At the same time, Maccabi Tel-Aviv defeated the Hungarian Kazinzertsika in the first match of the 32-big stage in the Challenge Cup, with the return match being held tomorrow.
In the draw for the European Men’s Volleyball Championship, the Israeli national team, which will host the group stage games for the first time, was placed in a house that also includes the Olympic champion France and the national teams of Romania, Portugal, Greece and Turkey.
“This is the best draw we could have asked for,” said the team captain Alex Osokin, who also participated in the lottery. “I am waiting for the spectators to see a show of volleyball at the highest level. The Olympic champions are coming to play against us at our home and now it’s time to work hard, prepare for the European Championships and arrive ready.”
Kazinzbartsika – Maccabi Tel Aviv 3:1 (22:25, 25:21, 25:16, 25:16)
Meanwhile, the first match out of two in the European Challenge Cup was held today in Hungary. The host started the game with good ability and took the lead 2:4, but Maccabi kept itself in the game and a block by Gandy Sokolov reduced the score to 6:5. Blazovitz’s block brought the locals up to 7:10, when again the yellows returned to the game and equalized to 11:11. Towards the end of the set, Kazincbrtsika took the lead 17:19, a difference she did not lose on the way to victory in the first set.
Maccabi opened the second set with a 2:7 advantage with points from Saponov and Sokolov. Iglesias maintained the Israelis’ advantage, but at 13:18 the Hungarians, led by Morias, scored three consecutive points and narrowed the gap. Gal Galili’s players did not break, pressed at exactly the right time and won the second set. Maccabi also started the third set impressively and took a 0:6 lead. The Hungarians were not in the game, when Baccala on the other side raised the advantage of the yellows to 1:9, an advantage he did not drop on the way to victory in another set.
The fourth set was already under the control of the yellows, who led it from the beginning, and opened a gap of 11:14, on the way to winning the set and the first game in the match. The return match will be held tomorrow in Hungary. We excelled at Maccabi Tel Aviv: Saponov, 22 points, Grasso and Foyer 13 points, KA.
“We are very happy about the victory,” he said Cylindrical wave Maccabi coach at the end. “It was not an easy game at all, it started hard, the team in front of us played loose and well, and we had difficulty attacking. I’m happy that in the second set we were able to break free and do things in a better way through the refusal, the blocking and the defense, and it looks better later on. We will rest a bit and get ready for tomorrow. We are preparing for a difficult game, as soon as the Hungarians play well and with enthusiasm, they are a tough team, we will try to pressure them from the beginning.”
Hapoel Kfar Saba was eliminated from the Challenge Cup
The men’s team of Hapoel Kfar Saba in volleyball lost tonight in the return match in the second round of the Challenge Cup 3:0 to the Belgian Lindemans. The opponent, who also won the first match (1:3), secured their promotion in the European factory to the round of 16, while Hapoel Kfar Saba will be freed for their tasks in the Premier League.
The Greens, who in the previous round were defeated by an opponent from Austria, were a close opponent to the Belgians in the first match. In the return match in Belgium it was already more difficult when the home advantage also helped the Belgians, who completed the task in 69 minutes. However, it was a reasonable performance by Kfar Saba, who even led 9:10 in the second set, before the Belgians picked up a gear and scored eight consecutive points compared to one of the Israelis.
Next week, the women’s team of Hapoel Kfar Saba will enter the circle of games, which will play an away game in Finland and on November 30, the return match will take place in Kfar Saba. The women’s team of the club from Sharon has strengthened significantly this season with aspirations to reach the higher stages of the European Challenge Cup.
