Tirana, Albania, September 3, 2018. The teams of Russia and Serbia are currently taking the first two positions in Pool II of the 2018 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship - Women after three days of play. On Monday the reigning champions in this age group – the team of Russia, remained undefeated as the players headed by Alexander Karikov turned out to be too strong for Turkey. Being more precise in the decisive moments, they won at 3-1 over their opponents. Germany, on the other hand, had a very easy match against the team of Slovakia. The players coached by Manuel Hartmann needed only 68 minutes to seize a straight 3-0 victory. In the last match for the day, Serbia were better than France and not giving them the opportunity to take a single set, won this matchup by 3-0. Tuesday is a rest day for the teams competing in the pool phase of the finals of #EuroVolleyU19W.
Slovakia vs. Germany 0-3 (14-25, 17-25, 14-25)
• A point-for-point game marked the first minutes of the match, but as the set was unfolding, Germany claimed a comfortable six-point difference in their favour (17-11) and continued on performing better for an eventual 25-14 win.
• Neither Slovakia, nor Germany were giving up in the second set, breathing down each other’s necks. However, after the fifteenth point, the players headed by Manuel Hartmann pulled ahead for a 25-17 win.
• Germany’s better performance in attack made it difficult for Slovakia’s defence and the third set was deservedly won by the German team as well.
Manuel Hartmann, head coach of Germany: “I think that if you play a game as the one we had yesterday, with many ups and downs, and you end up losing it, it is hard. The important thing was trying to change the mindset of the girls, they showed a great reaction to the match vs. Serbia. Today we were able to maintain our lever during the whole match – we let them score maximum three points in a row, then we could come back. The current situation in the group is very interesting, I think the favourites keep on being Russia and Serbia, but Turkey are very strong too.”
Michal Matušov, head coach of Slovakia: “Germany played the way we expected them to. Our main problem was to find some variety in our way of playing and we must work on that. Congratulations to Germany!”
Russia vs. Turkey 3-1 (25-23, 25-12, 16-25, 25-20)
• The Ambassador of Turkey Mr. Murat Ahmet Yörük attended the match to show support to his team and acknowledging this way the development of Volleyball on international level in Albania.
• The spectators in ‘Feti Burova’ sport hall enjoyed nice Volleyball in the first set. The captain of the Turkish team - İlkin Aydin - inspired her teammates and the players of Sahin Catma were close to emerging victorious. However, a strong performance in attack helped Russia to open the match with a 1-0 lead.
• Russia were leading in the second set as well and with the result being 12-6 in their favour, Catma took a timeout. It did not help his players, as the Russians were still in total control of the game (17-7) to later close it 25-12.
• Losing at twelve points in the previous set got the Turkish players more determined than ever. Improving their performance in the different components of the game, and especially in defence, they brought back the intrigue in the match, winning the set at 25-16.
• However, the Russian team responded with well-organised play in the next set and despite the attempts of Catma’s players to bring this match into a tiebreak, Russia closed it at 25-20.
Alexander Karikov, head coach of Russia: “I feel very good after having won three times. However, we still need to improve from a psychological point of view. Some moments, psychological ones, are not well ‘played’ among our players, so with every match we try to train ourselves in that component as well. We know that in the other group Italy are very strong, but nobody should be underestimated.”
Sahin Catma, head coach of Turkey: “One day you win, one day you lose. This is Volleyball. And this also happen at tournaments. Tomorrow is a rest day and we will take this time to prepare ourselves better for the next match with Serbia. It is a very important game.”
Serbia vs. France 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-20)
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Despite the support that the French players were receiving from fans in the sport hall in Tirana, Serbia showed better Volleyball in the first set and comfortably won it at 25-20.
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The players around Marijana Boricic started better in the second set as well (7-2), being more concentrated and until the end dominated the game for 25-11.
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Even though it seemed that France were about to easily give up, Amélie Rotar on serve and in attack fuelled a potential comeback of her side. However, the Serbians were able to resist to that attempt and closed the match at 25-20.
Marijana Boricic, head coach of Serbia: “Winning today was very important. I can see that we are improving day by day and I would like to congratulate my girls, we were better in attack. Of course, there is always something more to give and some space to improve. France put us under pressure, but we kept being focused and this is what matters in the end.”
Philippe-Marie Salvan, head coach of France: “When you want to win this kind of matches, you have to maintain the level high during all the sets. I am proud that we tried to fight until the end and that we gave our best.”
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