Finland stuns world champions Italy in five-set European volleyball thriller
Finland's volleyball team eliminated host and world champion Italy 3-2 in a dramatic European Championship quarterfinal in Turin, advancing to the semifinals. It marked a major upset, as Italy had dominated their head-to-head meetings this century.
Finland pulled off a major upset at the European men's volleyball championship, defeating host nation and reigning world champion Italy 2-3 (25:21, 26:28, 16:25, 25:20, 13:15) in a dramatic five-set quarterfinal in Turin.
The match swung back and forth throughout. Finland started poorly, trailing 0:3 and 7:10, but clawed back before Italy pulled away again to close out the first set. In the second set, Finland led for most of the way, and although Italy briefly took the lead, the two-time reigning world champions and finalists of the last two European tournaments failed to convert two set points. Finland closed out the set by winning three straight rallies.
Finland dominated the third set, winning by nine points — securing the country's first European Championship semifinal appearance in 19 years. The fourth set was tightly contested, with Finland repeatedly closing the gap, but Italy managed to pull away from 20:19 to 24:19 to force a decider.
Italy started the fifth set as favorites, building a lead of up to 12:10, but Finland handled the pressure better down the stretch, closing the match with a five-point run to secure a stunning victory.
Both teams recorded six aces apiece, while Finland edged the blocking battle 10-9. Finnish outside hitter Jonas Jokela led all scorers with 28 points, while Luca Martila added 22 points, including three aces. Mika Häppäniemi scored half of his ten points from blocks. For Italy, Yuri Romano top-scored with 20 points and three aces, while Giovanni Sanguinetti contributed four of his 14 points via blocks.
Finland will face France in the semifinal on September 25, while Slovenia and Poland meet in the other semifinal.
