Again, Estonia falls at the final hurdle
Less than 24 hours after Switzerland beat the Estonian national football team 1-0, scoring in the very last minute, the national volleyball team lost to Serbia in the play-offs of the European Championships, after racing into a 2-0 lead.
Estonia was not expected to put up a fight against Serbia, winner of the European Championships four years ago, but found itself up two sets, just one set short of victory and a ticket to the top 8 on the continent.
Estonia won the first set 25-21, and the second set 25-14. After that Serbia recovered to claim the third set 25-8.
With Estonia still needing only one set win to go on to the quarterfinals against France, Serbia leveled the score with a 25-22 victory in the fourth set.
The fifth set was as intense as it gets with Serbia pulling one point away, only for Estonia to immediately clawing a point back to draw the match level. As against Switzerland on Monday evening, it was not to be and Serbia won the fifth, and final, set 15-13.
Estonia, ranked 17th in Europe at the beginning of the tournament, matured over the course of the four games, beginning with a 3-0 loss to hosts Italy. France, also one of the favorites, was up next, also beat Estonia, but Estonia managed to win a set. Croatia was the last opponent in the group, with the winner of the two going into the play-offs. Estonia won that match 3-0.
Editor: J.M. Laats