22/06/2016 22:02
Team Azerbaijan set sights on European League Finals
2016 CEV Volleyball European League - Women
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 22, 2016. The women’s national team of Azerbaijan will be hosting this coming weekend two matches with Greece on schedule for the semi-finals of the 2016 CEV Volleyball European League. The matches will be taking place on June 25-26 at the local Volleyball centre in Darnagul, Baku. The eventual winners of this double header will be playing Slovenia or Slovakia in the finals. Everyone knows how much is at stake since the eventual gold medallists will become candidates to participate in the 2017 edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix, replacing the lowest placed European team from the 2016 edition under the condition that they fulfil all of the requirements/conditions and are accepted by the FIVB.
Azerbaijan claimed six wins in as many matches they contested in Pool B. Their current roster includes a number of young players since the goals set by the Azerbaijan Volleyball Federation include, beside this year’s European League, the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games and the 2017 CEV Volleyball European Championships, with both events due to take place in Baku.
The semi-final matches with Greece will be played this coming Saturday and Sunday, starting at 6pm local time.
Team Manager Oksana Kurt said: “Our first goal in this competition was to make it to the final round. Our players won all of their matches in the League Round and now the next goal is to win against Greece as well. Both matches will be played in Baku and I think that this is a further reason for being optimistic. I wish the very best of luck to Team Azerbaijan.”
Team captain Odina Bayramova added: “After finishing the matches in our pool, we returned to Baku and immediately resumed training here. Our main goal for now is to make it to the finals. We will be trying to win both of the upcoming matches with Greece in order to play in the finals and have the opportunity to represent Azerbaijan in the 2017 edition of the FIVB World Grand Prix.”
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