Tirana, Albania, September 1, 2018. The first match of Day 1 in Pool II of #EuroVolleyU19W set the tone for an exciting tournament with many interesting games ahead, as Germany and Turkey gave their best on the court on Saturday. Germany emerged victorious after a five-set Volleyball thriller, winning two important points for the final standing of the group. On the other hand, the reigning champions from Russia outclassed Serbia in straight sets, despite a very interesting and closely fought first set, while Slovakia upset France 3-1 to start the competition on a high note. The French players tried to come back in the match after winning the third set, but this was not enough for the final win.
Turkey vs. Germany 2-3 (22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 10-15)
• Turkey were supported by a crowd of passionate fans who attended the match in ‘Feti Borova’ sport hall in Tirana.
• Germany opened the match with a 25-22 win after 25 minutes of play in the first set.
• Again the German players were in control of the game in the second part, producing a ten-point difference at 14-4. However, an inspired Turkey were ‘flying’ in the end of the set, but the players headed by Manuel Hartmann could take this part as well.
• The Turkish girls tied the match in the third set and after a point-for-point game, closed it at 25-22.
• Turkey were leading early in the fourth set and despite Germany tried it hard to put an end to the fight, the match was decided in a tiebreak.
• The German players could find an answer to Turkey’s strong performance in attack and won at 15-10.
Manuel Hartmann, head coach of Germany: “We are happy that we could win and in the end this is the most important thing against a team as the Turkish one. Maybe they started a little bit slow in the match, but then in the third and the fourth set they played really, really great. They performed very well in attack and thus we had lots of troubles. They also improved in reception, but I am happy that we could start and end the fifth set in a good way. These points will be very important for us.”
Russia vs. Serbia 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-17)
• The first part set the tone for an interesting match, with both sides following each other in the score. However, a stronger Russia in the decisive moments took the lead at 26-24.
• Losing the first part had its impact on the Serbian players and although they tried to get back on their feet, showing some good Volleyball skills, they lost the second part at 21-25.
• In the third set Russia were controlling the play, with good performance on the block, this leading to a 25-17 win and an eventual 3-0 victory.
• Serbia’s Jovana Mirosavljevic was the best scorer of the match, putting 14 points to her name.
Alexander Karikov, head coach of Russia: “Every time when something happens for the first time, you are nervous. When you are getting married, for example. Playing a first match in the U19 European Championship is also the pre-condition for being nervous. So we needed to keep calm, only this way we could play without making any errors. We were more relaxed after the first set, while Serbia made too many service mistakes. Today wasn’t their day, but they are a very good and strong team with a good future.”
Marijana Boricic, head coach of Serbia: “First of all, congratulations to Russia, they are the champions in this age group and they showed why. They were definitely better than us, but on the other hand, we could have done better as well. If we had won the first set, maybe things would have developed in a different way. Everybody respects Serbia because of our results with the senior team, and I am glad because of that, but we need to improve.”
Slovakia vs. France 3-1 (25-12, 25-14, 12-25, 25-21)
• Karolina Fricova from Slovakia was the main actor behind her team’s success in the first set, with France struggling to find their rhythm.
• The second set was a close affair in the early stages, but as it was developing, Slovakia’s players took again the initiative and emerged victorious at 25-14.
• The French players woke up in the next part, refusing to lose 0-3. Showing great motivation, they closed the set at 25-12 in their favour.
• The fourth set was marked by some long rallies with both sides showing an equally effective game. However, Slovakia were better in the end for a 25-21 win to seal their first victory in the tournament.
Michal Matušov, head coach of Slovakia: “I am really happy for my team, because winning the first match is always very important. We started playing very well on service and that was the key to win the first two sets. After that, we made some mistakes in attack and we gave the French team the opportunity to take the third set. This is why I am so happy that we won the last part, because it means that we came back.”
Philippe-Marie Salvan, head coach of France: “We played against a very strong team of Slovakia; they were great in defence and we could not find an answer to this. Volleyball is an aggressive game – if you don’t want to fight, you lose.”
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