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A Russian comeback victory overshadowed Hawai’i outside attacker Filip Humler in the championship match having his best defensive performance for the Czech Republic.
Humler coming off the bench finished with a tournament-high two blocks as the Czech Republic lost to Russia 18-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 18-16 in the U20 European Championship gold medal match on Sunday in the Netherlands.
The Czech Republic led 14-12 in the decisive fifth game but failed to covert on two championship-points that would have earned the country its first championship in the tournament’s history. Russia after forcing the overtime had a kill on its third championship-point to win the European title.
The Hawai’i incoming freshman played in both the second and fourth game of the title match. Along with his blocks, Humler had an attack attempt and two reception errors on six serve receptions.
The outside attacker finished the European Championship appearing in four of the Czech Republic’s six matches.
Humler, a 6-foot-7 pin hitter, helped the Czech Republic win a gold medal at the U19 European Championship last year. He also won a Czech Republic national championship with his club team in 2017.