Lucky Greece made every single point count

The men's national volleyball team secured the most unlikely of qualifications to the knockout stages of the European Championship on Wednesday, earning the ticket to the last 16 of the tournament having conceded just one point less than Portugal in a story that seemed taken straight out of a Jules Verne book.

The players of coach Dimitris Andreopoulos lost 3-0 to Bulgaria in their first group game last Thursday and snatched a set against favorite Italy the following day to lose 3-1. The hosts of the Montpellier pool, France, beat Greece 3-0 on Saturday, but the Greeks knew it was the last couple of group games they had to win to qualify to the second round.

They came from behind to beat Romania 3-1 on Monday and looked good for going all the way against Portugal on Tuesday, winning the first set and leading 9-3 in the second. Then Greece suddenly seemed deflated, as...