Luxembourg, August 26, 2018. Three easy away wins in the #EuroVolleyW qualification on Sunday. Israel, Switzerland and Romania didn't waste any time in their matches and ran to victory in a convincing manner. Israel now have tied second spot in Pool A with Slovenia and can focus on qualifying for the final round in January. Switzerland is not through yet, in Pool B Austria is still a competitor for a EuroVolleyW spot. Romania top the charts now in Pool F, but are far from certain they will qualify. Spain beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in four sets, making sure they will resume qualifying in January from second spot of Pool F, just behind Romania.

Pool A

Iceland vs. Israel 0-3 (11-25, 12-25, 18-25)

• Before the match, Israel had a record of one win and two losses. Iceland started the qualification stage with three losses without winning a set.
• The match started with Israel dominating the first set from the beginning till the end to secure a landslide 25-11 win.
• The second set was again ruled by the Israeli team, the visiting players had great cohesion and it resulted in a 25-12 victory.
• However, the third part started with Iceland sharp, whilst Israel seemed a bit relaxed. Iceland impressed with a 9-6 lead. After that the away team scored eight points in a row thanks to their great blocking skills. Israel won in straight sets, Iceland still hasn’t won a set in the competition.
• Anna Velikiy was the top scorer for Israel with 15 points. Thelma Dögg Grétarsdóttir scored 10 points for Iceland. 

Hjördís Eiríksdóttir, captain of Iceland: "This wasn’t our plan, we wanted to do some damage here today. Probably our nerves got in our way."

Giuseppe Cuccarini, head coach of Israel: "My players were more focused on the right things in today's match. In the first match against Iceland we were under pressure after two losses in a row." 

Pool B

Albania vs. Switzerland 0-3 (19-25, 22-25, 10-25)

• Before the match, Switzerland had a record of two wins and one loss. Albania started the qualification stage with three losses without winning a set.
• The difference was not huge between the teams during the early stages of the first set. After that, Switzerland took the lead due to their precise attacks (19-25). 
• Albania got an early lead at the beginning of the second part but the scenario was the same after that. Great blocks and strong plays for Switzerland, who ruled the end of the set. Albania could not come closer and lost the set 22-25. 
• The third set was totally dominated by the Swiss as they won it after 18 minutes only. The match lasted 72 minutes.
• Laura Kuenzler was the best player of the match with 21 points scored today.

Altin Martiri, head coach of Albania: "As I have said before, this national team is still under construction. What I notice is that the level is rising from match to match and today we could have won every set with a little more care. It is not easy to win, even though today I made some changes. Let us hope that the next matches will be better for us."

Timothy Lippuner, head coach of Switzerland: "It was not an easy victory, even in the first two sets there was rivalry on the court and the match was great. We could claim the victory, as this was our goal and we are happy for the three points we get today. Now we wait for January for the other two matches in the group, to reach our goal of qualifying."

Pool F

Latvia vs. Romania 0-3 (13-25, 13-25, 15-25)

• Latvia didn’t have any chance against the really good team of Romania with best player Ioana Maria Baciu scoring 24 points.
• With 59 minutes of match play, this was the shortest match played this summer by Latvia in the European Championship qualification.
• Romania lead Pool F after their third win in four matches of this campaign. 
• As a result of the loss, Latvia now don't have a chance at qualifying for the #EuroVolleyW Final Round.

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Spain 1-3 (19-25, 15-25, 25-23, 21-25)

• It can still go either way in Pool F after Spain won in Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunday night. Romania lead with three victories and 10 points, but Spain also have three wins to boast on nine points. Bosnia and Herzegovia remain at two victories. Spain beat Bosnia and Herzegovina for a third time this season.
• The match was played in front of 1,400 spectators who supported the home team emphatically. Their cheers made the turnaround in set three possible.
• Spain's Helia Gonzalez was Sunday's top scorer with 20 points, including five aces and two blocks.
• Dajana Boskovic racked up the most points for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as she wasn't stopped on 16 occasions.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina lost the match despite having recorded more blocks (13 vs. 9).

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