SPORTS
Poland and Bulgaria set up semi-final clash
Baku, June 24, AZERTAC
Poland and Bulgaria will meet in the Baku 2015 European Games men's volleyball semi-finals to battle for a place in the gold medal match.
The Pool A table-toppers Poland swept past Slovakia (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) in a powerful performance that perfectly showcased the team's strength and ability.
Poland have now won all six of their games and will go into their semi-final against the Bulgarians full of confidence.
"Of course, when you start winning all the time, you feel good. We feel confident,” said Dawid Konarski after the triumph. "We have good team spirit, we feel good together. We feel good physically and mentally. I hope that will remain.”
Konarski said he was focused on his own team and not his opponents ahead of the semi-final and added: "We have time to rest and prepare before we play again. It doesn't matter who we play, we have to play our best volleyball."
After Slovakia failed to advance to the semi-final, a disappointed Marcel Lux said: “We failed in serve and attack. We wanted to be among the four best teams, but we couldn't make it.”
In the second quarter-final, Bulgaria, who finished in third place in Pool B, were worthy winners of their game against Turkey, 3-1.
Turkey claimed the first set 26-24, but the Bulgarians recovered their composure to take the next three sets 25-19, 25-17, 25-20.
"We lost the first set, maybe because we were anxious. We wanted to show we were the best team but we made a few mistakes", said Bulgaria captain Todor Aleksiev, who scored 20 points for his team.
"In the end, everything was okay and we showed we were the better team in the last three sets. We are gaining in confidence and playing better with each game.
"Now, I expect a very difficult game with Poland. We will be prepared, we want to get to the final."
The two teams will meet at 17:00 in Crystal Hall 1 on Friday 26 June.