Greece back in #EuroVolleyU19W after eight years
Panorama, Thessaloniki, Greece, 10 April 2022 - Greece return to a final phase of a #EuroVolleyU19W for the first time since 2014, after shutting out France 3-0 (28-26, 25-13, 25-13) in the deciding match to top Qualification Pool E of the 2022 edition, Sunday evening in the standing room only Sports Hall of Panorama, a Thessaloniki suburb.
France, who finished second in the pool, still have a shot of making the final phase, through Round 3 of the qualifiers.
France got an early lead in the nerve-racking first set, but Greece overcame some rather poor receiving to catch up at 14-14 and was first to reach set point at 24-22 - though it took the home side a total of five tries to finish it and only after a net-touch error from the French side.
By now Greece was on fire, building up on a ten-point run with Georgia Angelopoulou on the serve, from 4-5 down to lead 14-5. And Greece never looked back, picking up speed and improving exponentially as the game wore on to claim both the second and third sets solidly and convincingly, with remarkable ease.
Once Martha Anthouli got over the early opening set jitters and started scoring, she kept the points rolling in and finished the game on a tournament high of 28 points, with an attacking efficiency of 59% (26/44), as Angelopoulou contributed four aces and ten more points with Aikaterini Allagianni adding four blocks.
Nawelle Chouikh-Barbez was the only player of France to score in double digits, with 11 points.
"The stress of the girls continued today, because they wanted so much to qualify," said Greece head coach Anestis Giannakopoulos after the match. "This is why the first set didn't quite go according to our plans - though we managed to regain our concentration which was key to our win."
Earlier in the afternoon Latvia had outlasted Israel for a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 25-12) win to claim third place in the final rankings of the Pool on a 1-2 record. Though Israel went down fighting, they remained winless at the bottom of the table.
Latvia shot off to a 10-0 lead in the first set but play eventually somewhat balanced out and Israel even closed in to within three points at 18-15. Latvia reach set point with six to spare, but Israel's last-ditch attempt at a miracle comeback fell just short.
Israel tried again in the third to shake things up, coming from behind take a brief 11-13 lead before Latvia recovered.
Karmena Struka was the driving force behind Latvia's win, contributing the match high of 17 points in scoring, including as many as six blocks and five aces, as well as registering 55% (6/11 in attack).
Israel were exceptional today in defence, but our serving and blocking countered that," said head coach of Latvia, Ilmars Pulins. "And we completed the tournament on a positive note."
"We are left with a bit of a bitter taste," said Logan Tom, Israel's head coach. "We believed that we could have won at least one match but Latvia lasted longer and deserved the win."
France, who finished second in the pool, still have a shot of making the final phase, through Round 3 of the qualifiers.
France got an early lead in the nerve-racking first set, but Greece overcame some rather poor receiving to catch up at 14-14 and was first to reach set point at 24-22 - though it took the home side a total of five tries to finish it and only after a net-touch error from the French side.
By now Greece was on fire, building up on a ten-point run with Georgia Angelopoulou on the serve, from 4-5 down to lead 14-5. And Greece never looked back, picking up speed and improving exponentially as the game wore on to claim both the second and third sets solidly and convincingly, with remarkable ease.
Once Martha Anthouli got over the early opening set jitters and started scoring, she kept the points rolling in and finished the game on a tournament high of 28 points, with an attacking efficiency of 59% (26/44), as Angelopoulou contributed four aces and ten more points with Aikaterini Allagianni adding four blocks.
Nawelle Chouikh-Barbez was the only player of France to score in double digits, with 11 points.
"The stress of the girls continued today, because they wanted so much to qualify," said Greece head coach Anestis Giannakopoulos after the match. "This is why the first set didn't quite go according to our plans - though we managed to regain our concentration which was key to our win."
Earlier in the afternoon Latvia had outlasted Israel for a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 25-12) win to claim third place in the final rankings of the Pool on a 1-2 record. Though Israel went down fighting, they remained winless at the bottom of the table.
Latvia shot off to a 10-0 lead in the first set but play eventually somewhat balanced out and Israel even closed in to within three points at 18-15. Latvia reach set point with six to spare, but Israel's last-ditch attempt at a miracle comeback fell just short.
Israel tried again in the third to shake things up, coming from behind take a brief 11-13 lead before Latvia recovered.
Karmena Struka was the driving force behind Latvia's win, contributing the match high of 17 points in scoring, including as many as six blocks and five aces, as well as registering 55% (6/11 in attack).
Israel were exceptional today in defence, but our serving and blocking countered that," said head coach of Latvia, Ilmars Pulins. "And we completed the tournament on a positive note."
"We are left with a bit of a bitter taste," said Logan Tom, Israel's head coach. "We believed that we could have won at least one match but Latvia lasted longer and deserved the win."
