2019 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT – MEN

Six games of action rounded up Leg-2 play of the 2019 CEV Volleyball European Championship Qualifiers. The highlights of the day was Albania’s s Anton Qafarena’s monster 40 points game and the 5.170 fans that watched Latvia x Estonia, making it the most watched volleyball game in Latvia in the last 5 years. Almost 2.500 fans from Estonia came to the match. Here is the day’s recap:

Latvia vs. Estonia 1-3 (22-25, 17-25, 25-22, 19-25) – Pool B

Montenegro vs. Slovakia 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 28-26) – Pool C

Iceland vs. Republic of Moldova 0-3 (12-25, 11-25, 22-25) – Pool C

Belarus vs. Spain 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-11) – Pool E

Albania vs. Austria 3-2 (27-29, 27-25, 25-13, 20-25, 15-8) – Pool D

Switzerland vs. Hungary 2-3 (23-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 13-15) – Pool F

Stats of the Day

Albania’s Anton Qafarena led all scorers with 40 points on 63% hitting. Truly a masterpiece of a performance.

led all scorers with 40 points on 63% hitting. Truly a masterpiece of a performance. Austria’s Paul Buchegger had 5 aces in 19 tries

had 5 aces in 19 tries Hungary’s Jozsef Nagy and Belarus’ Siarhei Busel each had 5 blocks to lead the day

Quote of the Day

Albania was able to count on offensive powerhouse Qafarena’s 40 point effort to seal off the 5-set win against the competent Austrian team. That is the best way to bounce back from its Day 1 loss to Portugal. Here is how the team’s coach, Jovan Melkas, reacted:

“It was a dramatic victory, but in my opinion – a deserved one. However, we could have taken the win a bit faster, because we made some mistakes in the first set. We entered on the court convinced that we could win this game and in the end we managed to do so. We are in a balanced group where everything can happen, so I just want to congratulate the boys for this victory and encourage them to continue this way.”

Standings

Pool A