Masulovic Sinks Denmark, Sends Serbia Into Round of 16

Denmark’s serve drifted into the net at the exact moment the whole arena in Tampere was waiting for one thing to happen. The score was 14-14 in the fifth set, and Denmark had just failed to convert a match point of its own. Veljko Masulovic then took the ball and drove a spike from deep behind the line to hand Serbia its match point. He closed out the rally, and the match, with the same shot off his left hand, and the scoreboard read 16-14. It was Serbia’s second comeback from 0-2 down in sets in three days.

The win over Denmark, 3-2 in sets (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-14), came after 145 minutes of play at Nokia Arena, according to Sportklub. It secured Serbia at least third place in Group C at the European Championship and a place in the round of 16, just two days after the Eagles clawed back from the same 0-2 deficit against the Netherlands.

Head coach Djordje Krecu chose to rest several key players ahead of the Denmark match, above all Nikola Jovovic, Aleksandar Nedeljkovic and Drazen Luburic. The cost of that call showed early: Denmark opened up a ten point lead at one point in the first set before Serbia trimmed the gap to 19-25 by the end. The second set followed a similar script. The Eagles led 10-7 and then 11-8, only for Denmark to turn the set around and take it 21-25.

That was when Masulovic took the match into his own hands. The player from Nis produced the best performance of the tournament, hitting 56 percent in attack and earning MVP honors for the match, though the exact number of points he scored depends on the source. Nova.rs and B92 credit him with 34 points, while Sportklub lists 32. Behind him, Marko Ivovic added 13, coming off the bench midway through the second set, and Aleksandar Stefanovic finished with 10. Miran Kujundzic was the third Serbian player in double digits, with 11 points by Nova and B92’s count or 10 by Sportklub’s. For Denmark, Mads Kjed Jensen top scored with 29 points, followed by Oskar Madsen, credited with 13 by Sportklub or 14 by B92.

Serbia took the third set 25-21 after erasing an early 3-6 deficit. In the fourth, the Eagles led 5-1 and then 11-7, watched Denmark level at 13-13, and still closed it out 25-23. The fifth set opened well for Serbia too, at 5-3 and then 9-6 and 10-7, but Denmark fought back and reached match point first, at 12-11. Krecu burned his last timeout right there, and Denmark’s next serve went into the net, opening the door for the Masulovic run that ended the match.

With seven points, Serbia now sits third in Group C, ahead of Denmark on a better set ratio, while Belgium leads the group with 10. The final round of group play comes Thursday, September 17, at 4 p.m., against that same Belgium. The stakes are clear: a 3-0 or 3-1 win would move Serbia into second place and steer the team away from Italy, Group A’s leader with 12 points, in the round of 16. A 3-2 win would leave Serbia third, where, per B92, the Eagles would most likely draw the Czech Republic or Slovenia, Group A’s runner up.

What Masulovic delivered in Tampere was not a one off. For the second time in three days, he stepped up as Serbia’s rescuer with the bench weakened and the match seemingly slipping away. Whether that form holds against Belgium will be clear on Thursday at 4 p.m., in a match that decides whether Serbia heads into the round of 16 with an easier or harder draw.