The winner of the Group B, Italy, reached the semi-finals after they easily defeated Germany 3:0 (25:13, 25:18, 25:19). They were played a decisively better match and deservedly won.

The beginning of the match was quite careful from both sides with minimal amounts of mistakes. When Itay went into a two point lead after a nice block, their extraordinary play was about to begin. Another great block, Alessandro Machieletto’s attack and an error on the opponent’s net created a big lead that was enough to win the opening set. The experienced opposite György Grozer was substituted thanks to a knee problem. In the end, the score difference was twelve points (25:13).

During the second part of the game there were less mistakes and it was equal for a long time. After inaccurate Germany attacks, Italy grabbed the lead and the situation from the first set happened again. While Germany was pushed only by Moritz Karlitzek’s points, Italian setter Simone Gianelli could pick whoever he wanted to score. Both spikers and opposite Pinali played intelligently. After Gianluca Galassi’s ace (21:14) Italy took care of it and won by seven points (25:18).

Germany took an early lead 5:3 in the third set but their opponent didn’t allow any dramatic scenarios. With high blocks and good attack Italy turned the game around (8:7). They didn’t have to change anything and gradually increased the gap between both teams until they started to celebrate their promotion.

Giulio Pinali, Italian opposite: “Today we played very well. We had a strong serve, great attacks and also good reception. It was probably our best match of the tournament. I hope we will play like this in the semi-finals. This was our last appearance in Ostrava and I have to say I really enjoyed it. After Covid pause it was so cool to see people back in their seats.”

Moritz Karlitzek, Germany spiker: “We knew that they had a height advantage so basically we couldn’t get into the game. We were unable to put a much-needed pressure on them with our serve. It is hard to play against Italy like that. They were good in every gaming activity and served perfectly. We missed György Grozer. He had a knee problem yesterday and no-one knew what it was. He wanted to give it a go but it didn’t work. He is an amazing player and his experiences would definitely help us.