Luxembourg, August 15, 2018. The history making 2019 European Championship got underway on Wednesday with some wonderful matches. Belgium was fierce against Iceland, running to victory in just under an hour. In Pool D there was no doubt which two teams got out of the gates the best. France and Portugal both made sure they sent a signal to the other in advance of Sunday's clash for top spot in Pool D. Isabelle Haak led Sweden to a hard fought win over the Czech Republic with 27 points.

Pool A

Belgium vs. Iceland 3-0 (25-4, 25-8, 25-10)

• The difference between the Belgian Yellow Tigers, recently 13th in the top class FIVB Volleyball Nations League, and Iceland was simply too big. The Scandinavians were just too inexperienced to keep up the pace of a team that beat South Korea, Argentina and the Dominican Republic earlier this summer. 
• Marlies Janssens set the pace in the first set with four service winners in a row. With three successful spikes Thelma Dögg Gretarsdottir was the only one to show a little resistance in a devastating first set: 25-4.
• Gretarsdottir got a little support from Matthildur Einarsdottir in set 2, but Kaja Grobelna’s perfect record (7 points out of 7 spikes) led Belgium to 25-8 in set two.
• Home coach Gert Vande Broek gave all his players the chance to take part in the easy victory in set three. Iris Vandewiele closed it out with a huge block for 25-10.

Ilka Van de Vyver, player of Belgium: “We were supposed not to make mistakes and we did so. We kept our focus and we did a good job, especially in the first set. Now we have to keep this focus, because Israel’s level is a step higher.”

Thelma Gretarsdottir, player of Iceland: “This is not the strongest team we have ever played. Last year we played against Serbia. Now we are going to work hard, so that we become better in reception and will be better prepared for Slovenia and Israel.”

Slovenia vs. Israel 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-22)

• Slovenia entered the match with a full roster of 14 players, while Israel coach Giuseppe Cuccarini decided to appoint only 12 players for the their #EuroVolleyW qualification match in Maribor.
• Slovenia took control over the first set at its final stages, when especially Tina Grudina and Ana Marija Vovk stayed focused in attacking actions and helped their team secure a 25-19 win.
• The home team, boosted by winning the opening set, impressed the home crowd with five consecutive points for a 5-1 lead, mostly gained after an effective performance by Eva Mori at the service line. However, Israel managed to reduce the gap. The lead was changing back and forth, but thanks to a few mistakes of Cuccarini’s girls, Slovenia eventually closed the second set 25-23.
• The third part of the match was very similar to the second, except that the Israeli team, helped by Anna Velikiy and Polina Malik, was the one setting the pace. The Slovenian players improved their performance and made an important step towards being one of the two top teams in Pool A by achieving a 3-0 win.
• Iza Mlakar (SLO) was the best scorer of the match with 17 points. On the other side of the net, the most efficient player was Anna Velikiy with 16 points.
• Slovenia will next travel to Iceland and Israel will return home to host Belgium and Iceland.

Anita Sobočan, player of Slovenia: “We started the game a little bit confused, especially as we played on home soil. But we are really happy, that we started these qualifications with a win and we are looking forward to the next matches.”

Giuseppe Cuccarini, coach of Israel: “Before the match I said that the game against Slovenia will be important for us to see where we stand at this moment. We did not play any friendly matches, so we did not know what we are capable of; after this game, I can say we did not play bad. Unfortunately, some of our players did not play as well as they could. However, Slovenia has a strong team and I can be satisfied with what our girls showed today. It is a good start for us.” 

Pool B

Croatia vs. Albania 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-17)

• The Albanians came to Zagreb with great ambitions. But these ambitions were shaken after the first set, which the Croatian players won in just 23 minutes. The Croatians finished strong and celebrated their fantastic play with a victory. Head coach Daniele Santarelli was satisfied. This was his first official game with the Croatian national team and he was happy to come away with a victory.
• Croatian captain Samanta Fabris was the leading scorer of the match for the home side with 14 points in three sets on 57% attacking. Despite their loss in three sets, Erblira Bici of Albania top scored with an impressive tally of 21 points.
• The next match for the Croatian women's team is set on Sunday when they will be playing against Switzerland. 

• After a good start the Austrian side lost momentum in the second set, playing inert and despondent.
• Switzerland made no mistakes and were able to book a well deserved away win.
• The Austrian squad, that played with injured captain Srna Markovic, seemed insecure, committing many serve errors.
• Top scorers for Austria: Katharina Holzer (13 points), Sabrina Müller (8), Monika Chrtianska (7).
• Top scorers for Switzerland: Laura Kuenzler (21), Maja Storck (13), Gabi Schottroff (10).

Ukraine vs. Norway 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-19)

• Everyone expected Ukraine to dispose of Norway quite easily, especially since the hosts and their visitors are the no. 14 and 35 teams in Europe respectively as per the latest continental ranking. On top of this, Norway travelled to Ukraine with a very young team – the oldest player being Marianne Steen Knudsen (27) and all others born between 1996 and 2000. 
• Ukraine had to come from behind only in the early stages of the first set where they trailed 1-4 but some substitutions made by their coach helped the home side get back on track. 
• Norway made many mistakes at serve and reception, and despite the attempts made by Ragni Steen Knudsen and Synne Grøttum Kolsvik, the Ukrainian block was too much to stand for the visitors. 
• Svitlana Dorsman eventually top scored for Ukraine with 13 points as Kateryna Dudnyk and Olga Skrypak played a good match for the hosts as well. This trio helped Ukraine come back from a massive 7-16 deficit in the third set; at this stage, coach Gariy Yegiazarov replaced Iryna Trushkina, Oleksandra Peretiatko and Nadiia Kodola, thus succeeding in changing the course of the game.
• Anastasiia Kraiduba (nine points in the end) and Dudnyk set the tempo for Ukraine in their comeback, as did Skrypak and Anastasiya Karasova, Dorsman and Karyna Denysova. With a series of 18 points vs. three for Norway, Ukraine closed the match in three sets.

Greece vs. Montenegro 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-15)

• Greece shot off to a 6-0 lead in the first set and never at any point throughout the match trailed Montenegro.
• Greece’s Anthi Vasilantonaki scored an impressive 24 points to lead the scorers.
• Nikoleta Perovic with 10 for Montenegro was the only other player with double-digit scoring. 
• Greece put immense pressure on Montenegro from the service line to counter the visitors’ blocking.
• Greece return to Volos on August 25 to face Ukraine, after two matches on the road against Norway and then Ukraine.

Pool D

France vs. Denmark 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-21)

• 1,350 people attended the match.
• France stamped an 8-1 series in their favour in the third set to win the match 3-0.
• Lucille Gicquel was the best scorer of the match with 12 points for France.

France's head coach Emile Rousseaux: “It was a nice game for us. I am not completely satisfied with the level of our performance, but we won and the most important thing is that I was able to find the right balance between good players with a lot of experience and young players. I am satisfied that I could integrate three or four young players in the team.”

Lucille Gicquel, best scorer for France:  “It was a good game to get into the competition. We didn’t play our best volleyball today, we made a lot of mistakes, but we played good after all.”

Georgia vs. Portugal 0-3 (11-25, 11-25, 16-25)

• The host team started the match with a good attitude, but unfortunately lost their leader, Ann Kalandadze. She sustained an injury. After this accident Georgia lost their motivation. Portugal used their chances, showing great skills on the serve and won the opening set 25-11. 
• The Georgian team could not concentrate during the next set, did not play well in defence and lost again 11-25. 
• The third set started quite well for the hosts, but despite the fight, Portugal showed better volleyball and good character, getting the victory in straight sets 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-16). 
• Aline Rodrigues and Barbara Gomes were the best scorers of the match with 13 points apiece for Portugal.

Pool E

Czech Republic vs. Sweden 2-3 (25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 20-25, 7-15)

• A full house in Jablonec nad Nisou saw a great fight from the beginning of the first set. Isabelle Haak led Sweden in attack, but Veronika Struskova did her best in block and served two aces at the end of the set, which established the score of 25-19 for the hosts.
• The team from Scandinavia started well the next part of the game, but Helena Havelkova attacked powerfully and made it 12-8 for the Czechs. The home team's own errors in the final part of the set brought the tie 1-1 in the match.
• The Czech team presented high-level volleyball in the third part and thanks to strong serves quickly took the lead. An excellent Swedish service forced the hosts’ coach to take a timeout. A short break gave his team new power and the Czech Republic took the third set with a difference of 10 points.
• Sweden flipped the charts around in the next set – the Haak sisters took the responsibility in the offensive game, their team easily gained a five-point advantage and did not let the home side get any closer till the end of the set.
• The visitors stayed on the winning path and dominated the tiebreak, forcing the Czechs to make mistakes. Diana Lundvall scored the last point and gave the desired victory to her team at 15-7. 
• Isabelle Haak was the top scorer of the game with 27 points.

Barbora Purchartova, middle blocker of Czech Republic: “The Swedes did not give up, they fought even in unfavourable conditions, and they came back. In the fourth set, we let them break away. We knew that Isabelle Haak is their best player, she is smashing from an incredible height and it is hard to defend her. We did well in the first half of the match but after that, the quality of our attack and reception went down. The spectators were great and we have to thank them.”

Zdenek Pommer, coach of Czech Republic: “We had to finish the second set but we did not play it until the end. The Swedes were more aggressive at that stage of the match. In the fourth set, unfortunately, we started badly, which should not have happened.”

Jonna Wasserfaller, captain of Sweden: “We believed in ourselves, we fought for every ball, we had nothing to lose. We played our volleyball and together we won.”

Jonas Svantesson, coach of Sweden: “We never give up and it does not matter if it is 0-2 or 19-24. It is good for our girls that we talk about that all the time. We have one of the best players out there, but she needs to support us and we need support from her and we need to work as a team. That is important in order to edge the opponent.”

Estonia vs. Finland 2-3 (25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 7-15)

• There was almost a full house at the legendary Kalev Sports hall in Tallinn watching the game. 
• Kristiine Miilen had her best game with the national team on Estonia´s side, ending with 27 points. 
• Estonia was on fire the first two sets, but Finland managed to turn things around and go home with a 3-2 win. 
• Estonia outscored Finland by 15 points in the first two sets, and Finland outscored Estonia by 15 points in the last three sets.

Pool F

Romania vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-3 (25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 19-25, 11-15)

• The matchup starring Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina opened the way to the 2019 European Championships qualification in Pool F in Craiova. 
• Romania claimed an early lead and was helped by the many unforced errors made by Bosnia and Herzegovina. The players coached by Madalina Angelescu just outplayed their opponent in all aspects of the game and this resulted in a 25-21 set win. 
• The same trend continued in the second set where Romania stormed to a 21-16 lead when Bosnia retaliated with amazing Dajana Boskovic attacks which put a lot of pressure on the home defence. With a stronger block, Romania managed to claim a dramatic 26-24 win. 
• Bosnia and Herzegovina finally stepped up their efforts in set 3 and lived up to their powerful play. They reduced their mistakes to a minimum and this had an immediate impact on the score, with Bosnia and Herzegovina emerging victorious at the end of the set with 25-23.
• The two teams had ups and downs throughout the fourth set which was a close battle that at some point seemed to go Romania’s way. However, as the match progressed, it was Bosnia and Herzegovina to control the game and as a result, a tiebreak was to be played. 
• Romania caught a promising start to the fifth set with some blocks, however, Bosnia and Herzegovina regrouped to come back from two sets down and eventually celebrated a hard-fought 3-2 victory.

Latvia vs. Spain: 0-3 (24-26, 21-25, 13-25)

• It was the first EuroVolley qualification match for the national team of Latvia, so Spain was the favourite from the beginning, but only in the third set, they confirmed this status.
• Monta Strazdina performed very well as she gave a 4-3 lead for her team, but the more experienced Spanish players finished a very close opening set with the result of 26-24.
• Spain quickly took the lead in the second set and even changes in the Latvian line-up were not enough to turn the tide. Anna Embrekte reduced a four-point difference, but breaking the opponents was too hard. 

• The third set belonged to the Spanish team, who methodically won points and were more aggressive on court. A great performance of Helia Gonzalez, who scored 18 points in the end, gave her team a reson to celebrate the 3-0 victory.
• Marta Kamelija Levinska was the best scorer for Latvia with 10 points. She was the youngest player of her team on the court at 17 years of age.  
  
  

Inguna Minusa, coach of Latvia: “My girls have done a great job and they showed that there is potential for growth and willingness to develop. I believe in “my girls” and this game was not about losing or winning, but about the fact that we can win against more experienced teams.” 

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