Luxembourg, August 19, 2018. On Sunday, Croatia won the difficult away match against Switzerland, giving them access to first spot in Pool B. France had to battle big time in the first set against Portugal, but after they won it 26-24, les Bleues cruised to their second victory in the qualification phase of #EuroVolleyW. They are now on top of Pool D. Belgium won their second Pool A match with again great ease. Israel was unable to shake the team of Gert Vande Broek. The Yellow Tigers have now conceded only 50 points in two matches. Romania took revenge for their home defeat of Wednesday at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina, beating Spain in straight sets in Pool F.

Pool A

Israel vs. Belgium 0-3 (11-25, 6-25, 11-25)

• Belgium started the game with high energy, and quickly gained a 16-8 lead, which was kept until the end of the set. The guests did not wait long before taking a big lead for the second time, and the Israeli time outs were not helpful. Israel looked better in the third set, but the difference in level was just too big.
• The game lasted under an hour (58 minutes).
• Belgium and Slovenia are now tied at the top of Pool A with two wins in straight sets, and Israel and Iceland are tied at the bottom of the pool with two losses each.
• Belgium had 46 successful attacks compared to only 20 for Israel.

Polina Malik, #10 player for Israel: "We could have been more aggressive, but we will try to improve before the next match."

Gert Vande Broek, head coach of Belgium: "Israel wasn't weak, we just played excellent. Now the challenge is to keep the level high."

Iceland vs. Slovenia 0-3 (18-25, 16-25, 13-25)

• Iceland in front of their home crowd started the match with a good attitude on court, but stronger Slovenia reached them in the late stages of the first set and won 25-18.
• The visitors imposed their pace and did not drop their lead from the start of the second set. They forced Iceland to make mistakes and left the home defence helpless.
• The third set was a domination of Slovenia. Iceland gained some advantage in the beginning of this part, but quickly the Slovenian team were back on track and permitted Iceland to only score 13 times. 
• Thelma Dögg Gretarsdottir was the best scorer of the match with 14 points. 
• Slovenia served 12 aces and scored 10 points in block.

Pool B

Switzerland vs. Croatia 1-3 (25-22, 23-25, 21-25, 13-25)

• After a great start followed by some ups and downs, the Swiss team won the first set 25-22. Despite the fierce resistance from the home side, Croatia quickly returned to the game in the second set, winning 25-23.
• In the third part the host team tried to fight with a well-prepared opponent, but Croatia won 25-21. The visitors also dominated the last set, which ended at a landslide 25-13.
• With a fantastic atmosphere in Schönenwerd accompanying the Swiss team, they played their very best volleyball in the first three sets – the match was followed by an excited crowd of 1,100 spectators.
• Collecting another three points, the Croatian team took a big step towards their qualification for the 2019 Volleyball European Championship. On the other hand, the Swiss team gained many experiences that they will transfer to the next important match against Albania.
• Croatian captain Samanta Fabris was the best player of the match, scoring 19 points.

Laura Kuenzler, captain of  Switzerland: “We are really happy that we could start the match like we did against Croatia. It was a great job of the whole team. Then we could not keep on playing on this high level and were not as consistent as Croatia. I guess that is the main reason why we lost this match.” 

Daniele Santarelli, coach of Croatia: “It is not so easy to play against the Swiss team. We are physically stronger, but my team made many mistakes. We have to improve. Still, after we won our first match against Albania, the match against Switzerland was probably the most important match in the pool. This victory is an important step towards the qualification to the Final Round.”

Albania vs. Austria 0-3 (21-25, 16-25, 14-25)

• The Austrian team claimed an easy victory against Albania in Pool B, reaping their first three points. Only the first set was close between the two teams, while for the rest of the game the Austrian volleyball players were superior and deserved the victory. 
• The Albanian team is playing in this event with several young players, so while this result isn’t what they wanted, this is a group that promises much for the future. 
• This was the third time that these two teams played against each other in the last three months (twice in the Silver European League) and the away team has won each time. 
• For Austria this is the first victory in this competition, while Albania is still looking for their first win.
• Nikolina Maros of Austria, with 14 points, was the best scorer of this game, while for Albania, Erblira Bici chipped in with 13 points.

Portugal vs. France 0-3 (24-26, 18-25, 12-25)

• Using the block as their best asset, France won against Portugal by 3-0 and took the isolated lead of Pool D.
• Portugal entered the match well and led the score until 9-8, when two points from Juliette Fidon (attack and block) turned the scoreboard around for the French.
• A quick reply from Portugal with Eduarda Duarte in the service granted them the lead once again (16-11). With Ana Couto serving, Portugal increased the gap (19-13), nevertheless the French reaction (19-17) led by Pauline Martin was strong and ended by rewarding the visitors with the win by 26-24, sealed with two consecutive blocks.
• France started the second set with the same attitude with which they ended the previous one (3-0, 16-13) making the most out of their block and service. Despite the Portuguese response and the points scored in attack by Marta Hurst and Barbara Gomes, France well captained by Fidon continued to add the necessary points for another win: 25-18.
• With growing confidence, Emile Rousseaux team ended the match in emphatic style by building step by step a decisive advantage (7-1, 18-6) and closing the set and match with a landslide 25-12 win. 
• Juliette Fidon, with 12 points and Pauline Martin with 11 were the best scorers of the match while Barbara Gomes with 10 points was the best scorer for the home team.

Emile Rousseaux, head coach of France: “Today we only won another match. We have to be aware of what women’s volleyball is in France and don’t get euphoric, going into every match with the same attitude. Thus, our goal is to win the next two matches in order to qualify.”

Manuel Almeida, head coach of Portugal: “The first set of a match should never be decisive, but this ended up being... We were good and within what we expected until the end of the first set, but the way we lost this set affected the team mentally and emotionally. Now we are going to analyse the negative things, take our lessons and see if the team doesn’t continue to be emotionally distressed with this result and take to the court next Wednesday in Braga with all our strength.”

Pool E

Sweden vs. Estonia 1-3 (23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 17-25)

• After their hard-fought away victory in Örebro, Estonia moved to second place in Pool E behind Finland with one win / one loss and four points after two matches.
• 19 year-old superstar Isabelle Haak of Team Sweden was the top scorer of the match with 25 points, including six aces. 
• Sunday’s match in Idrottshuset in Örebro was part of a highly anticipated weekend in Örebro, where both the grand finals of the Swedish Beach Tour (the Swedish elite Beach Volleyball tour) and a total of two #EuroVolley qualifiers took place in a span of just four days.

Diana Lundvall, #15 player of Sweden: “We fought hard but did not manage to take it all the way today, unfortunately. We will try to leave this game behind us as soon as possible to re-focus on the upcoming clashes with Finland.”

Kriistine Miilen, #4 player of Estonia: “It was super-tough out there and we knew it would be just like that coming in to this game. After taking home the first two sets we became a little bit too relaxed, although we know we have to fight for every single point against a good team like Sweden. We got off to a really good start in the 4th set while the Swedes started to make easy mistakes which we took advantage of.”

Spain vs. Romania 0-3 (21-25, 23-25, 13-25)

• Romania claimed their first victory in the #EurovolleyW qualifiers with a solid and effective performance.
• Spain made too many mistakes - 30 during the entire match. The home team could not display consistency in their performance.
• Romania was confident in their actions to claim the victory in straight sets. Spain could not execute well in the end of each set.
• Ioana Maria Baciu was the top scorer of the match with 19 points.
• Middle blocker of Romania, Andreea Maria Petra was injured in the third set after a bad fall from a block.
• It was a great debut for the new Romanian Head Coach, Nikolay Ivanov.

Pascual Saurín, head coach of Spain: “Romania was a strong rival. Today they played a great match. We made several mistakes, thus facilitating their play. We need to win the next two matches against Bosnia, if we want to have a chance in the qualifications.”

Nikolay Ivanov, head coach of Romania: “I’m so happy for our win. My players played with attention, with passion, and finally we won this very important match for us.”

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