Umag, Croatia, June 19, 2013 – In a rematch of the 2012 U19 semifinal Poland’s Michal Bryl and Kacper Kujawiak defeated Russia’s Viacheslav Kirienko and Dmitry Uraikin again at the final qualification round of the U21 World Championships on Wednesday in Umag. The Polish under 19 world champions won their first two matches of the day in straight sets, but needed three against Russia: 21-13 19-21 15-12. The Russians had a great comeback in the second set, leading all the way from 10-10, and the match developed into a very attractive show, which drew lots of supporters to court number 2. In the tiebreak Poland was trailing but flipped the score around with some great digs and smart line shots. Tough match after two easy wins It was a tough match after two easy wins over France’s Gras/Thiercy (21-12 21-9) and Latvia’s Prokofjevs/Raimonds (21-13 21-11). Kujawiak: “We know this team well, we played them last year in the U19 semifinals and we trained with them in Russia.” Bryl: “It was a tough day overall, playing three matches, but we will be back tomorrow again”, Bryl said. Last year the Polish duo finished 25th at the U21 World Championships in Halifax. This year their ambitions are higher. “We are here to win a medal, it does not matter what colour, we just want a medal”, Bryl said. Top seeded Brazil makes no mistakes Bryl and Kujawiak were indeed tipped-off as favourites for this year’s title by the number one seeded in the qualification tournament, Gustavo Albrecht Carvalhaes and Allison Cittadin Francioni. The Brazilians had a bye in the first round and found their way to the main draw by wins over Czech team Benes/Perusic (21-16 22-20) and Canada’s Simone/Burlacu (21-9 21-11). “We kind of expected to win”, said Guto Carvalhaes, who finished fifth last year with Marcus at the U21 World Championships in Halifax. “Because we Brazilian teams always consider ourselves as favourites. But the Polish team is a strong contender, as are the German teams.” Guto Carvalhaes and Allison feel right at home in soaring hot Croatia. “We are from Rio and the weather conditions here are quite similar. We like it here.”FIVB U21 World Championships Tournament Page Twitter: @FIVBBVBU21 Facebook: FIVB - International Volleyball Federation YouTube: FIVB Video