Ukraine, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Germany secured their spots in the semifinals of the 2023 Sitting Volleyball Men’s European Championship with victories at Palamare Valter Vicentini on Friday.
Ukraine climbed back from a 2-1 set deficit behind the outstanding effort of Denys Bytechenko to knock out Croatia in tie-break 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-19, 15-7).
The Ukrainians made a brilliant run in the fourth set after a tied game at 15-all, scoring in series of plays to outrun their Croatian rivals. In the fifth set, the Ukrainians dictated the tempo and never allowed the Croatians to make a comeback.
Bytechenko had a prolific scoring night, tallying 32 points, while Roman Pryshchepa and Maksym Petrenchuk accounted for 11 and 10 more, respectively. The Ukrainian top scorers outmatched the performances of Croatian scoring duo Ivan Cosic and Edvin Zdionica, who made 25 and 18 on a losing effort.
In other quarterfinal matches, Poland resisted a tough challenge from Latvia to win in straight sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-19). Three Polish players scored in double figures, as Tomasz Grell and Tomasz Labocha contributed 11 apiece, and Dawid Kolodziej added 10 markers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany remain in top form after their straight-set victories in the semifinal.
Safet Alibasic and Dzevad Hamzic kept Bosnia and Herzegovina’s winning streak after a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-18) triumph over Serbia, while Dominik Albrecht and Francis Tonleu were the heroes in Germany’s 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-17) win over hosts Italy.
Ukraine will face undefeated powerhouse Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first semifinal at 18:00 local time, while Poland will meet Germany in the second semifinal at 18:15.
Photos: © ParaVolley Europe