Belarus, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey off to #EuroVolleyU17W finals
Sunday’s last competition day of the 2018 CEV U17 Volleyball European Championship - Women qualification process offered action in four different pools, which was to provide all the answers about who would make April’s finals in Bulgaria. Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and Belarus booked their tickets to Sofia after topping the final standings in Pools A, C, G and H, respectively. The Netherlands, Germany and Hungary will join the line-up at the Final Round as the three best second-placed teams across all pools. The teams of Italy, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine qualified as pool winners on the previous competition days.
Pool A - PLOIESTI (ROU)
Romania won the first place at their home tournament after defeating Belgium in the de facto final for the top of the table to advance to the finals in neighbouring Bulgaria.
Sweden vs. Switzerland 0-3 (12-25, 17-25, 11-25)
Switzerland cruised to a speedy straight-set win against Sweden to register their first victory of the tournament. The Swiss took only 67 minutes to hammer out their success and leave the Swedes winless at the bottom of the table. Switzerland’s Annik Stähli scored 22 points, including five aces, to top the charts of the match.
Romania vs. Belgium 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19)
Romania stumbled in the first set, but to the delight of the home crowd in Ploiesti, recovered to win the next three and record a 3-1 victory, thus booking their ticket to Sofia. None of the sets was one-sided as the two teams put up a great fight in their quest for first place in the pool. Belgium’s Pauline Martin was the best scorer of the match with 19 points. Alexia Ioana Carutasu scored 18 for Romania, followed on 17 points by teammate Florina Isabela Murariu, who was responsible for five of her squad's 16 aces in this game.
Marius Macarie, coach of Romania: “The match was extremely tough because both teams were under pressure. I believed in my girls, I told to my players that as long as we play our own game, we would be successful. I think we used our experience from previous difficult international games. I want to thank the spectators as they helped us a lot tonight.”
Pool C - OLOMOUC (CZE)
Slovenia and hosts Czech Republic engaged in a five-set battle for the first place in Pool C, but as soon as the Slovenes won the third set it became clear that they would be travelling to Bulgaria for the finals.
Iceland vs. Spain 0-3 (10-25, 11-25, 9-25)
Spain beat Iceland convincingly in straight sets in their last match in Olomouc. While the team of Daniele Capriotti did not win any games in the Czech Republic and took the fourth place, Spain’s final standing as second or third in the pool was left depending on the outcome of the duel between the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Scoring 14 times, Raquel Montoro was the biggest point contributor to Spain’s victory over Iceland.
Daniele Capriotti, coach of Iceland: “It was our best match of this tournament. I must repeat what I said in previous days – for us this is a very important experience and we are learning a lot.”
Pascual Saurin, coach of Spain: “We knew we probably have no chance of qualifying for the European Championship, so the match was a bit different. But I think we ended this tournament well.”
Slovenia vs. Czech Republic 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-12, 21-25, 15-8)
The last match of the qualification tournament in Olomouc promised a dramatic and exciting show because at stake was the direct ticket to the European Championship. The Czech team won the first set, but then the Slovenian players regained concentration, took the next set and, then, in high style gained total control over the third for an impressive 25-12 win, which meant Slovenia were going to Sofia as pool winners. Eventually, the Slovenes beat the Czech Republic in the tie-breaker.
Boris Klokocovnik, coach of Slovenia: “We knew that the Czech team had the home advantage and the match would be very tough. Both teams played very well so I am very satisfied with the result and our ticket to the European Championship.”
Aleš Novák, coach of Czech Republic: “Our opponents served well and were good in reception. That was what gave them the win.”
Pool G - MISKOLC (HUN)
Turkey won the pool after they shut out Hungary in the decisive duel of the unbeaten. However, both teams ended up with tickets to the finals, as the hosts lined up among the best three pool runners-up.
Portugal vs. Slovakia 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23)
In the first match of the day Slovakia and Portugal crossed swords for their first and last win of the tournament. After four sets, it was Portugal that emerged victorious. In the first set the Portuguese girls took the initiative and led the whole way through to 25-18. It did not change much in the second set. Portugal dominated for a 25-21 win. The Slovakian team started better in the third set, but Portugal equalised at 18-18. The endgame brought a tough fight, which the Slovaks finally won at 26-24. At the beginning of the fourth set the two teams were close to each other but after 7-7 Portugal took over and won the match after a 25-23 final score.
Manuel Almeida, coach of Portugal: “It was a very well organised tournament. I am not so satisfied with the performance of the girls, because there were big ups and downs. This weekend was nevertheless a great experience for the players.”
Marek Meriac, coach of Slovakia: “It is difficult to talk about this tournament. We did not play as well as we had expected before the competition.”
Turkey vs. Hungary 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-12)
Turkey cruised to a straight-set victory over hosts Hungary in the crucial match for the first place in the pool. The first set brought an easy 25-14 victory for Turkey. The second set was a much closer fight. The Turkish girls were leading through most of the set, but at set points Hungary scored five points in a row before letting it go at 22-25. The Turks kept their self-confidence and they dominated the next set for a25-12 win to close the match.
Bülent Günes, coach of Turkey: “Of course, I am happy, because we qualified for the European Championship. We are satisfied with the performance of our team. We served very well during the whole weekend.”
Gábor Kőnig, coach of Hungary: “It is difficult to say something. We played very good matches on the previous two days. I think it was a big experience.”
Pool H - KIENBAUM (GER)
Belarus beat Germany in the race for the first place in Pool H to get their Bulgarian visa stamped, but the one set the home side won in this crucial match-up proved golden for them as they also made the finals as one of the three best-ranked pool runners-up.
Belarus vs. Germany 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-14)
Belarus claimed a four-set win against Germany in the decisive game of Pool H. Kseniya Liabiodkina contributed as many as 23 points to her side's success.
Dzmitry Kot, coach of Belarus: “I am very proud of my girls. We won - that was the most important today. It was all about psychology, but we managed to stay calm.”
Jens Tietböhl, coach of Germany: “It's a dream! We practiced together since early December. They improved in every aspect and coalesced so much. I am very proud. Today Belarus deserved to win. They performed better in every element, but, nonetheless, my girls fought hard.”
