The volleyball players lost 0:3 in Estonia and failed for the first time in the European League

Illustration photo – Match of the 3rd round of Group C of the European Volleyball League: Czech Republic – Estonia, June 3, 2023, Ostrava. Head coach of the Czech Republic Jiří Novák.

Tartu (Estonia) – The Czech volleyball players suffered their first defeat in the fourth match in the European League. In Tartu, they lost to home Estonia 0:3 after sets 15:25, 24:26 and 21:25. Despite this, coach Jiří Novák's men continue to lead the group C table. In the penultimate round, they will face Finland in Tampere on Wednesday.

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Coach Novák tested the young scorers Jiří Srb and Šimon Bryknar in the match, who got a chance for the first time. Only the second set was even, in which the Czech volleyball players had a set point, which they did not convert.

“We didn't do much today. On the other hand, we simply have to pass such tests,” coach Novák said in a press release. “I'm not sure if we were well mentally prepared for such a fight and we were ready to help the young scorers. In the first set, we were constantly receiving and it was difficult to attack from that. From the second set, we increased our aggression, but in my opinion it was not enough. We were afraid to play and take the reins of the match into our own hands,” he stated.

The best player of the match was the sweeper Martti Juhkami, who spent the past season in the Karlovarsk jersey, with 15 points. Valentin Kordas scored one less point. Patrik Indra was the most productive author of 11 points in the Czech team.

“We came to Estonia to win. We wanted to play good volleyball and keep our hopes of progressing to the Final Four. The Estonians served well, they dealt with point balls better, which we didn't have much access to in the field,” said smasher Lukáš Vašina. “We have to put the loss behind us, because we have two more matches in Finland and Slovakia ahead of us, for which we must tune in and prepare. Because those two matches will be key for us in the fight for the Final Four,” he added.

European Volleyball League – Group C:

Estonia – Czech Republic 3:0 (15, 24, 21)

Referee: Luts (Belg.), Strandson (Est.). Time: 81 min. Spectators: 768.

Composition and points Czech Republic: Srb, Licek 10, Špulák 3, Indra 11, Benda, Zajíček 3, libero Pfeffer – Bryknar 1, Šotola 4, Vašina 7, Polák 2, libero Moník. Coach: Novák.

Estonia's most points: Juhkami 15, Kordas 14, Aganits 11.

Slovakia – Finland 3:0 (23, 16, 22).

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