Out-of-this-world Sedlacek powers Croatia to stunning upset of Bulgaria and into next round
Recap
Croatia delivered a stunning four-set upset of host Bulgaria to book the second Pool B ticket to the eighthfinals of the men’s CEV EuroVolley 2023, with a brilliant Marko Sedlacek leading the team to the victory. Croatia improved to a 3-1 win-loss record and eight points in second place, a point short of pool leader Slovenia. Bulgaria is currently third on 2-2 and 6, edging fourth-placed Spain on set ratio. Earlier on Sunday at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, the Spaniards managed a four-set win over Finland, leaving the northerners in fifth place on 1-3 and 3.
Spain v Finland 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 25-23)
Once again, the team of Spain was well motivated by a large crowd on the stands cheering for its opponent. Captain Andres Villena, who entered the court during the second set and stayed on for the third and the forth, helped Spain get back on course to victory. The opposite registered an impressive 76% success rate in attack towards a total of 18 points, including an ace and a kill block. Outside hitter Jordi Ramon also finished with 18 points, including an ace and a block, while middle blocker Miguel Fornes raised four stuffs towards a 10-point tally. Finland’s outside Luka Martilla produced the match high of 21 points.
Spain quickly recovered from an early 6-3 Finnish breakaway and after 13-13 started gradually building up a lead of its own. Jordi Ramon led both the reception and the attack on the way to a 25-21 win, shaped up with an elegant tip by Francisco Iribarne for the last point. In the second set, Finland stepped up its performance on all counts – serving, blocking reception and attack – and had the lead throughout. Jiri Hanninen contributed two of Finland’s three aces towards the 25-19 close.
Spain got back into rhythm during the third set, not without help from the abundant unforced errors on the Finnish side. Sub-in Andres Villena was on fire in offense, putting away nine of the 10 attempts in attack, including the set winner at 25-21. Coach Joel Banks made a few key changes to his squad for the start of and during the fourth set and that seemed to be paying off initially as Finland was in the lead for most of the second half of the set. However, Villena and Ramon kept the fire burning on Spain’s side and, in the money time, helped turn the course of the set around. The captain himself hammered the match winner to close the set at 25-23.
Miguel Fornes“It was a really good game. We prepared really well for this match. We had a really good system in block-defense. We gave them trouble with our service and I think that this was the key to winning this game.”
Middle blocker of Spain
Luka Martilla“It was a tough and very competitive match without any team taking the lead for too long. Unfortunately, Spain was better in the key moments at the end of the sets. We still have our chances to advance to the next phase, so we are looking forward to our next game and chasing a mandatory win.”
Outside hitter of Finland
Bulgaria v Croatia 1-3 (25-22, 16-25, 22-25, 21-25)
Marko Sedlacek had a huge impact on Croatia’s stunning four-set win over favorite Bulgaria that sent the team to the eighthfinals. He hammered three aces and raised three kill blocks towards the match high of 29 points, spiking at a 62% success rate. He had some excellent performances in defense and even in setting, while scoring vital points in key moments of the match. Middle blocker Kruno Nikacevic impressed with five kill blocks towards a 12-point tally. Opposite and captain Petar Dirlic also finished with 12 points. His Bulgarian counterpart Tsvetan Sokolov led his squad with 18 points.
Bulgaria pressured the opponent right from the start and broke away with an 8-3 lead. However, Croatia did not fold and fought back to catch up momentarily at 12-12 and 13-13. The home team regained the lead, also capitalizing on some unforced errors by the Croatians and with Martin Atanasov, Aleksandar Nikolov and Tsvetan Sokolov on fire at the net, took the set by 25-22. Things started the opposite way in the second set with the Croatians opening an 8-3. Only they not only did not allow the home team to get back into the set, but kept up the pressure from the serving line, and with Marko Sedlacek spearheading the offense, widened the gap further to a 25-16 close.
After a good Bulgarian start of the third set, Croatia caught up and a nail-biting point-for-point battle unfolded until 19-19. When Sedlacek took the service line, he helped his team break away crowning a series of four Croatian points with two aces. Shortly after, Sedlacek converted the set point himself with a successful spike for his 10th putaway of the set and a 25-22 close. The inspired Croatians continued to dominate in set four to open a seven-point gap at 16-9. The home team made a late attempt at a comeback, with Sokolov firing a couple of aces and Nikolov spiking away, to get back to within one at 22-21, but the Croatians pushed through and it was Sedlacek again who converted their first match point to a 25-21 close with a powerful pipe shot.
Martin Atanasov“Croatia got on the court today with clear minds and free of any pressure. They had nothing to lose considering the current situation and against us as host of the tournament. In addition, their team is well prepared having some high-quality players, so we didn't underestimate them. They just were the better squad on the court today.”
Outside hitter of Bulgaria
Bernard Bakonji“Congratulations to my team and my staff! We did a great job. It was a tough match against the host. It was an important game for them too, but we won. We go to the next round. This was our first goal. We believe in our team. We had a lot of confidence. It was hard because we lost the first game against Finland, but after that we beat Ukraine and we raised up.”
Setter of Croatia
Monday’s seventh competition day in Pool B will feature Ukraine against Finland at 17:30 local time, and Croatia against Slovenia at 20:30.