08/01/2019 21:00
Eight teams to fight for last four tickets to EuroVolley Women
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Women
Luxembourg, January 8, 2019. There are still four tickets to EuroVolley 2019 Women at stake when 12 matches take place on Wednesday across the whole of Europe to determine the last teams to qualify for Europe’s premier Volleyball event. Austria and Switzerland will lock horns in a sort of ‘derby’ in Pool B vying for a spot to compete at EuroVolley. Israel and Slovenia will be doing just the same in Pool A, while Bosnia & Herzegovina and Romania are due to deliver a truly exciting battle in an effort to claim the remaining ticket available from Pool F. Estonia and Czech Republic will be fighting for the right to play at EuroVolley but not directly against each other. The Czechs will play Sweden in Stockholm while Estonia take on Pool E leaders Finland in Hämeenlinna. Make sure you follow all of the matches live on EuroVolleyTV, the new digital home of European Volleyball!
Pool A
Israel vs. Slovenia
• Slovenia recorded a 3-0 victory last August in the previous match between these two teams.
• Galya Devash, Israel’s middle blocker and one of the most important players for the team, returns to play after giving birth to her first child.
• If they win, Israel would qualify to EuroVolley for the first time since the 2011 edition held in Serbia and Italy.
• Anna Velikiy, probably the best Israeli player, is 36 years old.
Giuseppe Cuccarini, head coach of Israel: “In order to have a positive result in this game we have to put under pressure their side-out system, serving very well in order to force them not to play quick attacks, so that consequently we can do a good job with our block-defence system. At the same time, we have to make our side-out system run smoothly, avoiding too many mistakes in reception and attack.”
Israel will try to use the home court advantage to edge Slovenia and qualify for EuroVolley Women.
Iceland vs. Belgium
• Belgium have already qualified for EuroVolley 2019 after winning all of their matches so far by the same score (3-0).
• On the other hand, Team Iceland are at the bottom of the charts after losing all of their matches in straight sets.
• The Yellow Tigers have a young team – with their average age standing at 21 only.
• Thelma Dögg Grétarsdóttir, the top scorer from Iceland’s last match against Slovenia, might not play due to a minor injury.
Borja González Vicente, head coach of Iceland: “We know that Belgium is the best team in our pool, so our plan is to enjoy the match. Our main goal is to get experience for our future.”
Gert Vande Broek, head coach of Belgium: “We are very satisfied with our extremely young team and to have qualified already. Because we have already qualified for EuroVolley, we will have the chance to change the team a bit and to provide some younger players with an opportunity to take to the court.”
Pool B
Albania vs. Croatia
• The matchup in Tirana will not have much of a meaning, since Croatia have qualified for EuroVolley already with five straight wins in the pool.
• Albania, on the other hand, have lost five times in a row and do not stand any chance at qualifying anymore, since they are not in contention for second place in the pool anymore.
• Back in August, Croatia routed Albania in three sets when opening the EuroVolley qualifiers in Zagreb.
Switzerland vs. Austria
• It is coming to a real showdown in Pool B of these EuroVolley qualifiers with Croatia already qualified and both the Austrian and the Swiss teams still able to finish second and qualify.
• The Swiss national team needs to win one last point to cause a sensation and make it to a European Championship through a qualification round for the first time in the history of Swiss Volleyball after they co-hosted the event together with Germany in 2013.
• Due to her injury, it is still not sure whether Laura Künzler will be able to play. Korina Perkovac had to cancel her participation in the January matches because of her studies. Despite the weaknesses they have on the outside position, the Swiss team will do everything possible to win at least the last necessary point.
• There is going to be live broadcasting on Swiss television, an exceptional fact in Swiss Volleyball.
• Austria head coach Svetlana Ilic is the former head coach of the Swiss women’s national team while Timo Lippuner was her assistant coach at the time. Timo succeeded Svetlana in 2014.
• Austria’s Monika Chrtianska played for two years in Switzerland (2016–2018).
Switzerland hope to repeat their performance from last summer when they beat Austria away from home.
Timo Lippuner, head coach of Switzerland: “We are prepared as we have been expecting this big January showdown since last summer. Austria have a strong team and want their revenge after the defeat in the opening match of the qualifiers. They confirmed their excellent form on Saturday in their match against Albania. However, we know our strengths and want to secure our ticket to EuroVolley 2019 on our home court.”
Laura Künzler, captain of Switzerland: “For the first time, the qualifiers for the European Championship are played according to a format which allows us to play home matches in Switzerland. It is very motivating to play this decisive match at home in the Betoncoupe Arena, where our families, friends and fans will support us. Having won in Austria last summer awakens our ambitions to repeat this performance in front of our home crowd – and to secure the qualification for the EuroVolley 2019. We are ready! We have worked a long time for this and it is finally happening!”
Pool C
Norway vs. Ukraine
• There is not much to play for in Oslo since Ukraine beat Montenegro last Saturday to secure second place in the pool and with it, a ticket to EuroVolley 2019.
• Norway sit at the bottom of the table with no wins at all and only one set won in five matches this far.
• Norway have a very young team, with the average age standing at 19.5 years old.
• The women’s match will set the tone for the highly anticipated men’s fixture between Norway and Belarus due to take place at the same venue – where much more will be at stake.
Ragni Steen Knudsen, captain of Norway: “We believe the match will be exciting. We have many good players that can give good results. Our average young age will be a challenge but at the same time, it will result in many long rallies. The past two weeks we have been working hard preparing for the final matches in the pool and we want to give our home crowd a look at what we can achieve in the future.”
Matt van Wezel, head coach of Norway: “We will use this match to see if we are able to move towards the level of play we need in order to be able to qualify for future championships. It will be an interesting match since Ukraine have already qualified and we are in the underdog’s position. Norway has a lot of talent and we are now using the younger players to build a platform for the future.”
Greece are yet to lose a single set in Pool C.
Montenegro vs. Greece
• Montenegro lost to Ukraine on Saturday in Zaporizhya and are no longer in contention for a ticket to EuroVolley.
• Greece, on the other hand, are the undisputed pool winners, with five wins in as many matches and no sets lost this far.
• Greece will try to make it six wins in a row to complete their spectacular campaign in these EuroVolley qualifiers.
Pool D
Denmark vs. France
• It is top against bottom in Pool D, when France visit Denmark on Wednesday.
• The ‘Bleues’ qualified for the Final Round back in August already, whereas Denmark strive not to finish last in the pool. France have won five matches in a row in the pool without dropping a single set.
• In the two team’s first encounter back last summer, France won 3-0.
• Denmark inaugurate their new home court, Antvorskovhallen in Slagelse, and hope to give an expected record high number of home fans a great experience.
Portugal vs. Georgia
• Georgia lost on Saturday to Denmark while Portugal had to accept a 0-3 loss to pool leaders France, but at the end of three closely fought sets.
• As a result, Portugal will finish second in the pool even if they win their last match in the pool against Georgia.
• Portugal qualified for EuroVolley Women back in August, thus achieving a truly historic feat for the country’s Volleyball family.
• Last summer, Portugal stormed to an easy 3-0 victory over Georgia in Tbilisi. Back then, Georgia’s best player Ann Kalandadze suffered an injury in the first set, but she has recovered to score 21 points against Denmark last week. Marta Hurst top scored for Portugal against France with 13.
Rui Moreira, head coach of Portugal: “We know that we are the favourites in this match and are ready to take this role.”
Pool E
Finland vs. Estonia
• Finland have already qualified for EuroVolley, while Estonia must win this match if Czech Republic beat Sweden in the other match of the pool in order to make it to EuroVolley.
• Estonia have never before played in the women’s European Championship and for Finland, it has gone 30 years since their last appearance in the tournament.
• The former captain of the Finnish team Pauliina Vilponen has retired from competitive sport at the end of last summer. Outside-hitters Piia Korhonen and Noora Kosonen cannot play in this match because of injuries.
• There will be about 200 Estonian fans travelling to Finland to see the most important match of their team in Hämeenlinna.
Team Estonia are still in contention for what would be their maiden appearance at EuroVolley Women.
Tapio Kangasniemi, head coach of Finland: “We are ready for the match and we do not give anything for free. Our goal is to win this pool. Estonia have even more at stake in this match, because they must secure their place in the top two of this pool to make it to the European Championship. They have a very good team.”
Suvi Kokkonen, outside hitter of Finland: “It is a wonderful experience to have a chance to play with the national team at the home arena of my own club Hämeenlinna. It is so great that we are already qualified for the European Championship and we have had a chance to play against so many good teams in the qualification round.”
The Czech Republic are fighting with Estonia for a ticket to EuroVolley Women.
Sweden vs. Czech Republic
• For Czech Republic, there is only one thing that matters going into Wednesday’s game: getting that much-needed victory. Without it, the top-seeds in Pool E will miss the Final Round.
• Superstar Isabelle Haak is missing in the Swedish squad.
• The last time the two teams clashed, Sweden caused a huge upset, winning the away game 3-2.
Jonas Svantesson, head coach of Team Sweden: “We want to end this campaign with a victory. Our opponents are still in the race for a spot in the European Championship Final Round and we will do our best not to let them qualify on our expense and on our home soil. We did beat Czech Republic this past August - and we can do it again.”
Pool F
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Romania
• There is a lot to play for in Lukavac since the winners of this fixture will qualify for EuroVolley 2019. This would be a historic achievement for the team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Back in August, Bosnia and Herzegovina surprised Romania, opening the EuroVolley qualifiers with a 3-2 away victory in Craiova.
• Depending on the result of this fixture and on what Spain will do with Latvia, Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina could still finish first in the pool.
Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina will fight for qualification in Lukavac.
Spain vs. Latvia
• Spain want to claim a victory, even though they are already qualified for EuroVolley, in order to finish first in their pool.
• Two players could make their first appearance with the Leonas del Vóley: Raquel Montoro and Maria Antonia Gomila.
• Latvia will be trying to claim their first victory in these EuroVolley qualifiers.
• Back in August, Spain beat Latvia in three sets in Jelgava. Spanish captain Helia González was the top scorer of that match with 18 points.
Pascual Saurin, head coach of Spain: “We want to claim first place in the pool. Last weekend in Romania, we secured the ticket to EuroVolley, but now we want to confirm that victory. We need the win here in order to secure the top position in the group.”
Helia González, player of Spain: “This is an important match for us, even beyond the final standing. We want to end the qualification round with a win, try to do our best and fight for the first place in the pool.”
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