Resistencia and Corrientes, Argentina, August 21, 2015 - Only four teams can still dream of the gold medal at FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship. Host team Argentina, Iran, Poland and Russia secured victories in Resistencia that propelled them into the exclusive group of semifinalists, after an exhausting day of unstoppable emotions.
In a match that was as close as fantastic, Russia displayed all of their might to shut down USA’s unbeaten march at the first quarterfinals shift. The Russian side emerged victorious 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) with a grueling pace led by an 18-point production of massive scorer Dmitry Yakovlev. USA did very well in spite of the negative result, but they failed on seizing the slight amount of chances presented during the game.
Although they were only a few inches away from elimination, Iran resurged from ashes and achieved a spectacular return to rule out Italy 3-2 (17-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-11) and move to semifinals. Iranian captain Rasoul Aghchehli nailed 25 points leading a counterattack force that grew unstoppable. When it looked like the Azzurrini were ready to seal the deal with a 4-point advantage in the final track of the third set, Iran stomped to win that chapter first and eventually the game.
Later on, European MVP Bartosz Kwolek broke all the charts as Poland stomped China 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) at another quarterfinals clash in Resistencia. Demolishing serves and never-ending power uplifted Kwolek as the man of the match, with 23 points and a new tournament record from the service line - a shocking total of 10 aces among the 12 of the team overall. Opposite Jakub Ziobrowski and outside hitter Tomasz Fornal joined with 15 and 10 tallies respectively.
The final showdown of the day was one of the best of the tournament - another edition of the South American “classical” match between Argentina and Brazil, with an unforgettable 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20) win of the host team. Opposite Manuel Balague had the best game he could ever dream for, as he was the brightest star of the game with 18 points, in front of a huge crowd that packed Alejo Gronda Hall in Resistencia.
The semifinal clashes for this Saturday will be Iran v Poland, a rematch of a Pool C game which the Poles won 3-1, and Argentina v Russia, a duel between two second-placed at pool play, both looking in their best shape now.
Meanwhile, the first quota of places 9-16 matches were played in Corrientes. Bulgaria took advantage of Mexico’s low energy with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-23) win, Cuba did the exact same over Chile 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-23), Turkey needed a bit more work to defeat Japan 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19) and France subdued Germany 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22, 15-13).
Finally, on the round robin pool for places 17 to 20, Belgium took another step with a sounding 3-0 (25-11, 25-9, 25-22) win over Chinese Taipei, with an enormous blocking margin of 18-0, while Puerto Rico seized a much-needed win over Egypt also 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-15).
Top Scorer by Day27 - Jakub Ziobrowski of Poland vs Bulgaria on August 14
24 - Maximilian Auste of Germany v Japan on August 15
23 - Yen Chen Fu of Chinese Taipei v Bulgaria on August 16
29 - Ridel Garay Nava of Mexico v Cuba on August 17
27 - Yu Yuantai of China v Italy on August 18
27 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Bulgaria on August 19
25 - Rasoul Aghchehli of Iran v Italy on August 21
Top Scoring Performances29 - Ridel Garay Nava of Mexico v Cuba on August 17
27 - Yu Yuantai of China v Italy on August 18
27 - Jakub Ziobrowski of Poland vs Bulgaria on August 14
27 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Bulgaria on August 19
26 - Joachim Panou of France v Argentina on August 14
Top Individual Serving Performances10 - Bartosz Kwolek of Poland v China on August 21
7 - Micah Ma’a of USA v Belgium on August 15
7 - Dmitry Yakovlev of Russia v Germany on August 18
6 - Bartosz Kwolek of Poland v Chile on August 17
6 - Toray DeFalco of USA v France on August 17
Top Team Serving Performances13 - Poland v Iran on August 15
13 - USA v France on August 17
13 - USA v Mexico on August 19
12 - Russia v Germany on August 18
12 - Poland v China on August 21
Top Individual Blocking Performances8 - Mathieu Manusauaki of France v Italy on August 19
7 - Gianluca Galassi of Italy v Cuba on August 14
7 - Scott Stadick of USA v Russia on August 21
7 - Aliasghar Mojarad of Iran v Bulgaria on August 18
7 - Dawid Woch of Poland v Japan on August 19
Top Team Blocking Performances21 - Italy v France on August 19
21 - Chinese Taipei v Puerto Rico on August 19
20 - Germany v Japan on August 15
20 - Russia v Bulgaria on August 19
19 - Iran v Bulgaria on August 18
Highest Scoring Sets34-32 Puerto Rico v Chinese Taipei (2nd set) on August 19
33-31 Russia v Germany (3rd Set) on August 18
29-27 Argentina v France (4th Set) on August 14
29-27 Germany v Puerto Rico (2nd set) on August 16
28-26 Bulgaria v Iran (3rd set) on August 18
Highest Scoring Matches233 - Chinese Taipei d Puerto Rico 3-2 (24-26, 32-34, 25-20, 25-17, 16-14) on August 19
224 - Argentina d France 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 25-27, 29-27, 15-12) on August 14
216 - Chile d Chinese Taipei 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14) on August 14
215 - Germany d Japan 3-2 (23-25, 26-24, 26-24, 18-25, 15-9) on August 15
214 - China d Italy 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 25-15, 16-14) on August 18