07/09/2019 23:00
Serbia and Turkey to lock horns again with EuroVolley crown at stake
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Women
Luxembourg, September 7, 2019. Turkey and Serbia will lock horns on Sunday in the gold medal match of the history-making CEV EuroVolley 2019 Women. It will be a repeat of a Pool A match contested earlier in the competition – where Serbia recorded a 3-1 victory. Serbia edged Italy 3-1 in the first semi-final, which was a remake of the gold medal match from last year’s World Championship. Turkey recorded a 3-1 win as well in their matchup with co-hosts Poland. On Sunday, Serbia will be chasing their third EuroVolley title to go with those claimed in 2011 and 2017 – while Turkey will be trying to improve on the silver medal they secured back in 2003. As for Italy and Poland, the bronze medal match will pick these two teams again, after Poland edged Italy at the tiebreak on the last day of Pool B action in Lodz.
Make sure you follow the competition through the official event website https://eurovolley.cev.eu and the CEV’s social media channels, with live streaming (geo-blocking applies depending on the TV agreements in place) and exclusive video content available on EuroVolleyTV and the CEV’s YouTube channel, respectively.
Click here for a comprehensive TV schedule of the medal matches.
Serbia vs. Italy 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20)
• In a rematch of last year’s FIVB World Championship gold medal match, Serbia stormed to a 3-1 victory over Italy to secure their spot in the grand finale of the historic CEV EuroVolley 2019 Women.
• Serbia extended their EuroVolley winning streak, which has been lasting since they lost the semi-final of the 2015 edition to eventual winners Russia.
• Paola Egonu of Italy was the best scorer with 26 points but the ‘Azzurre’ paid a high price for the 16 errors she made in attack. On the other side of the net, Tijana Boskovic scored 22 points for Serbia.
• Serbian middle blocker Milena Rasic, who plays for Turkey’s heavyweight VakifBank ISTANBUL, was one of many (former) elite players to follow the match from the stands of Ankara Sports Hall.
• On Sunday, Serbia will be playing the winners of the second semi-final match featuring Turkey and Poland in an effort to secure back-to-back European titles – a feat that Italy (2007 and 2009) and Russia (2013 and 2015) were able to achieve in recent EuroVolley history.
Tijana Boskovic, player of Serbia: “Frankly speaking, I think this game was a final before the final for us because we played against Italy last year in the final of the World Championship. It was a tough game but we really enjoyed it. I am so proud of my team and about how we played today. We do not know our opponent yet for tomorrow. It does not really matter, since it is a EuroVolley final. I hope tomorrow we can play better than we did today.”
Davide Mazzanti, coach of Italy: “We did not show our best Volleyball today. We had problems in attack. Today we made many mistakes, especially with our side-out game. I feel disappointed with our performance. Serbia is a great team but we can be better. I am happy with our journey at this EuroVolley but it is difficult to say much after losing a semi-final.”
What an ambiance for the EuroVolley semis in Ankara!
Turkey vs. Poland 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 14-25, 25-18)
• Turkey beat Poland 3-1 to reach the EuroVolley gold medal match for the second time in their history. The hosts will be playing against title-holders Serbia in a repeat of a Pool A match – which went Serbia’s way (3-1). As many as 12,000 fans attended the match – thus equalling the EuroVolley record set in the quarterfinal fixture against the Netherlands.
• After 16 years, Turkey made amends for the 0-3 loss they suffered at the hands of Poland in the gold medal match of the 2003 edition – which took place in Ankara as well.
• Again, Eda Erdem Dündar was the top scorer for Turkey with a tally of 19 points – as Hande Baladin and Kübra Akman recorded 16 and 12, respectively. Turkey out-blocked Poland 15 to 5.
• The result accounts for Turkey’s fifth win in a row over Poland in major competitions since the ‘Sultans of the Net’ lost to the White-and-Reds in the pool stage of the Baku 2015 European Games.
Kübra Akman, player of Turkey: “Of course, we are very happy to be in the final. It was a dream day with both our audience and our own performance. We made some mistakes in the third set, but we knew how to make up for these. We are very happy. Many thanks to all the supporters! Tomorrow we expect such an atmosphere again. It will be a much harder match than this one but we will be ready for it. We made it happen today and I hope we can do the same tomorrow and become European champions on home soil.”
Jacek Nawrocki, coach of Poland: “Today Turkey played a very good game. Eda Erdem Dündar was great. Turkey were better than us – and they did so in every aspect of the game. Our team played the best they can. We are very happy with playing the semi in Ankara, in such an arena. The match with Italy will be a great challenge. Italy have a very complete and strong team. We will fight for every ball.”
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