EuroVolley semi-finals confirmed as Poland and Italy take the last tickets to Rome

All roads lead to Rome in this edition of the EuroVolley - Men, but already the last day of the knockout stage in Bari delivered Volleyball at its finest with two thrilling quarter-finals. Poland came back in the games against Serbia, as both teams produced a true Volleyball show at Palaflorio Bari. However, the emotions reached the zenith when Italy fought against the Netherlands in absolutely stunning and dramatic five-setter. The hosts, with their extra player - home crowd - prevailed and are ready for take-off to Rome. Thus, Italy reached a historic milestone, becoming the first team to claim 150 wins at the European Championships.

Poland vs Serbia (26-28; 25-15, 36-34, 25-17)

Two years ago, the bronze medal match featured Poland and Serbia. Once this year, these two teams locked horns already in the quarter-finals and that meant that one of the podium regulars would already be eliminated at this stage of competition. Serbia enjoyed a perfect opening to the game, starting it with a 5-1 lead. Although Poland quickly tied (9-9), Serbia stayed a step ahead of their rivals. From the beginning of the match, Drazen Luburić was on fire (9 points in the opener), exchanging powerful hits with Wilfredo Leon (7 points). Even if Poland saved the first set point and had their chances, Serbia prevailed 28-26, as two last attacks from Leon went into out. The world ranking leaders quickly banished memories from the first set, starting strongly the next part and controlling the situation on the court with a 15-9 lead and improving it further to 19-10. Łukasz Kaczmarek and Wilfredo Leon were almost unstoppable - both 75% in attack - scoring 8 and 7 points, respectively, to win the set 25-15 and tie the match score. 

The third part was simply epic as both teams showed the finest Volleyball. After a balanced opening, two consecutive aces from Leon gave Poland a 7-4 lead, but quickly Drazen Luburic answered with a powerful spike and an ace to tie 7-7 and since then, it was a nail-biting point-by-point race. The teams went far beyond regular 25 points, delivering a world-class volleyball show. Kaczmarek and Sliwka (7 and 8 points, respectively) and Kujundzic and Luburic (8 and 6 points), were the leaders of the teams, but both playmakers Marcin Janusz and Vuk Todorovic distributed the balls perfectly, using the potential of the teams. Both sides had their chances to prevail, but eventually Kamil Semeniuk's block gave this set to Poland with a 36-34 result. The fourth set was close until 8-8, Poland made block their weapon (7 killing stuffs in this set - 3 from Jakub Kochanowski) and it put Serbia in trouble as their rivals jumped to 15-11 and 21-15. Aleksander Śliwka's attack sealed the deal and Poland booked their ticket to Rome. A match-high was produced by Łukasz Kaczmarek - 21 points, two less tallied by Wilfredo Leon and Drazen Luburic - the scoring leader of Serbia. In the semi-finals - same like two and four years ago - Poland will face Slovenia.

Italy vs the Netherlands 3-2 (19-25, 25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12)

The last quarter-final game and the last game played in the heart of Puglia - Bari, featured the defending champions and local favourites Italy and the valiant Netherlands. In the sold-out Palaflorio, it was the Netherlands who opened the game better. Flueled by Michael Parkinson, the Oranje took a 6-3 lead. The vivid crowd sparked Italy to tie and the game turned into a fierce race. The breakpoint came when Bennie Tuinstra went to the service line (3 aces), as the Netherlands won four consecutive points (19-15) and keeping the distance safe, they closed the set after brilliant attack from Nimir Abdel-Aziz, who - like in the previous games was a scoring leader of the Netherlands, hammering 9 points only in the opener (70% success in attack). It was a cold shower for the hosts, who with full determination returned to the court, gaining a three-point advantage at 6-3. The Azzurri were putting all their strength in their spikes and serves, so the emotions ran high at Palaflorio. Outstanding plays by Yuri Romano, Gianluca Galassi and Alessandro Michieletto moved the hosts to 16-11. The hosts speeded up to earn the set at 25-17, deserving a standing ovation from the crowd.

The Azzuri kept the momentum and opened the third part with a 4-1 lead, in a couple of shakes, they jumped to 11-6 and with an amazing run on the service line by Alessandro Michieletto, they made it 16-9. Simone Giannelli led the game perfectly, as his team reached impressive 76% success in attack. A tricky spike from Yuri Romano ended the third part with 25-16 on the scoreboard. 

The Netherlands didn't give up and took the next set as a new chance, opening it well (3-1; 8-5). Vigorous Nimir Abdel-Aziz strengthened  the lead with two winning serves to 14-8. The Oranjes, powered by Abdel-Aziz and Bennie Tuinstra (7 points apiece), kept the distance (19-14), but Italy fought hard. The hosts reduced the gap to 20-17 and with an unbelievable run of their blocks they had the Netherlands in their sight (23-22). A too long spike from Yuri Romano closed the set 25-23 in favour of the Netherlands, extending the game into a tie-break. The tie-break was a battle of nerves and insane plays. But the Italians had an extra player in Palaflorio - the ecstatic crowd, who helped them return from two points behind to an 8-6 lead. The passionate and fierce fight continued, but the Italians had the situation under control (12-9), grabbing the last ticket to Rome after Daniele Lavia's spike.

Nimir Abdel-Aziz topped the scorers' chart with as many as 31 points to his name (58% success in attack). The best scorers on the Italian side were Alessandro Michieletto - 22 points and Yuri Romano - 21 points. On Thursday, in Rome, Italy will take on France to fight for their back-to-back title.