A presence of Prince Frederik did not help Denmark in opening match of the EuroVolley 2013. The co-hosts of the tournament were not equal to overcame Italy and gave in the dual in three straight sets. The second match of the premier day fell prey to Belgians that left no chances for European Championships rookies of Belarus. They also needed just three sets to celebrate the victory.
Denmark – Italy 0 – 3 (22-25, 15-25, 15-25)
Denmark: Jacobsen 1, Knudsen 5, Sorensen 5, Ditlevsen 18, Jensen 6, Gade 2, Mikelsons (L) and Verming, Christiansen 1
Italy: Travica, Parodi 8, Piano 8, Zaytsev 15, Savani 7, Beretta 8, Rossini (L) and Saitta, Mazzone 2, Kovar 5, Vettori 3
With 3,400 fans in attendance at Arena Fyn Italy downed the home guys of Denmark in straight sets (25-22, 25-17, and 25-15) to start their quest for another medal with the right pace. Denmark was playing their first European Championship final round game in 42 years and wanted to show they did deserve to be here. The home side started out strong (3:0) but the bronze medallists from the London Olympics responded quite promptly taking the lead for the first time at 8:7. Though the home fans had created a very nice ambiance at Arena Fyn, the guys mentored by Mauro Berruto did not bother that much and could stand the fierce resistance by the Danes to claim the opening set at 25-22.
Denmark got off to a flying start also in the second set but Italy fired back to move to the front at the first mandatory stop as it had done in the first set (8:7). Italy gradually found their best game and cruised quickly to a relatively comfortable 25-17.
The third set was a carbon copy of those that Italy had claimed before with an early 8:7 lead and the bronze medallists from this year’s World League confirming their ambition to go for gold with Ivan Zaytsev scoring the last point at 25-15.
Team Stats:
| Action | Spike points | Spike % | Block | Serve | Rec. Pos. | Rec. Exc | Errors |
| Denmark | 33 | 38% | 3 | 2 | 49% | 22% | 21 |
| Italy | 38 | 55% | 10 | 8 | 82% | 50% | 16 |
Team Leaders:
| Action | Points | Spike Points | Spike % | Spike errors | Block | Serve | Unforced Errors |
| Mats Ditlevsen | 18 | 17 | 44% | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Ivan Zaytsev | 15 | 11 | 65% | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Belgium – Belarus 3 – 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16)
Belgium: Depestele 3, Deroo 13, Van De Voorde 11, Van Den Dries 17, Verhanneman 8, Verhees 10, Dejonckheere (L) and Tuerlinckx, Verschueren
Belarus: Haramykin 3, Antonovich 7, Busel 10, Audochanka 2, Akhrem 13, Venski 5, Likhard (L) and Mikanovich, Charapovich 2, Radzik 1, Kurash, Marozau 1
Actually Belarus caught a good start setting the pace of the game in the first set and moving up 8:7 and 16:14 at the first and second mandatory stop. However, as soon as the so-called “Red Dragons” found their pace and their block started to work as planned, Belgium fought back, drew level at 21 and wrapped it up at 25-22.
Belgium dictated the tempo of the game also in the second set (8:6) but Belarus clawed back and turned the charts around going up 12:10. Still Belgium was capable of firing back, levelled at 13 and from there controlled the game with ease for the provisional 2:0 (25-20).
The third set was some kind of a walk-over for the gold medallists of the 2013 European League and even though Belarus scored some more points as Belgium relaxed a bit, the final score (25-16) reflected the one-sided development of that set.
Team stats:
| Action | Spike points | Spike % | Block | Serve | Rec. Pos. | Rec. Exc | Errors |
| Belgium | 46 | 50% | 12 | 4 | 70% | 50% | 14 |
| Belarus | 33 | 36% | 6 | 5 | 56% | 31% | 13 |
Team Leaders:
| Action | Points | Spike Points | Spike % | Spike errors | Block | Serve | Errors |
| Bram Van Den Dries | 17 | 10 | 48% | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Aleh Akhrem | 13 | 13 | 57% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Description: CEV
