Tirana, Albania, September 5, 2018. The reigning champions from Russia continue their outstanding campaign in Pool II of the 2018 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women as they qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament. On Wednesday the players, headed by Alexander Karikov did not give any chances to Slovakia, winning at 3-0 over them, outclassing their opponents in all the components. With four victories out of four matches, the Russian team will for sure finish in the pool stage on one of the first two places in their Pool II. The matchup between Turkey and Serbia was a tied and very important one, having in mind that the pool stage is reaching its climax. The Turkish players were more determined to take the win and despite Serbia's efforts to stay in the game, Sahin Catma's girls made their supporters in 'Feti Borova' sport hall happy, winning at 3-1. Later in the evening, France were close to recording their first victory at #EuroVolleyU19W, but the German players upset them at 3-2, saving this way their chances to continue their journey in the competition.
Slovakia vs. Russia 0-3 (19-25, 12-25, 12-25)
• Both teams entered the court motivated, but as the first set was unfolding Russia started to score point after point, making a comfortable point difference to eventually open the match at 25-19.
• The players coached by Alexander Karikov were in total control of the second set, not allowing their opponents to react. As Slovakia had difficulties to find their rhythm of play, they lost the set at 12-25.
• Nothing changed in the last set of this match, as the Russian players were dominating the play from the very beginning to make the point gap bigger at 15-5 and 19-9 in their favour. Despite Slovakia tried to fight in the last moments of the set, the Russian captain Valeriya Shevchuk put an end to the discussion, scoring the match point.
Michal Matušov, head coach of Slovakia: “Russia are a very strong team. They are the champions in this age group. For my players this was a great experience. I would like to wish to Russia to win their next matches and we will prepare for tomorrow as well.”
Alexander Karikov, head coach of Russia: “We are very happy that we played a good match on Wednesday and that we qualify for the semi-finals. We still don’t know if we will finish on first or second position. We know the situation in the other Pool and we would like to play against the team that is not so strong, of course, but we don’t know yet who this team is. We have played against these teams one year ago, but a lot of things have changed for that period, so we will see what will happen.”
Turkey vs. Serbia 3- 1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-21)
• Turkey started the match inspired for a 16-11 lead, but the Serbian players woke up to equalise at 20-20 after some nice play in attack and defence. Losing their rhythm, the Turkish players would score only two points after that to give away the set at 22-25.
• Turkey, supported by their fans in ‘Feti Borova’ sport hall in Tirana, took the lead in the second set (16-12). Serbia’s reception was suffering in the last minutes and so the Turkish players comfortably closed the set at 25-17.
• It was a close game in the beginning of the third set, but Serbia’s service made it difficult for Turkey’s reception, so Sahin Catma was forced to take a timeout. It helped and after a real team effort, the Turks were leading at 16-14 before they eventually won the set at 25-21.
• Step by step, Turkey stretched their lead to 16-10 in the last set of this match. It was enough for the final win and the Turkish players congratulated themselves with a very important victory.
Sahin Catma, head coach of Turkey: “Today’s match was a very important one, we needed to win it. And we are happy that we got the job done. We played very well with our service. Now we have to concentrate on the last match and see what the others will do, but we hope to be among the best four teams at the tournament.”
Marijana Boricic, head coach of Serbia: “What happened is that Turkey played better Volleyball in this match. They have many good players – they all worked as a team; there was not only one player leading the others, but all of them, playing nicely together. We made a lot of mistakes and this is the result.”
Germany vs. France 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-14, 19-25, 15-12)
• Although France started a little bit better, Germany took the initiative and opened the match with a 25-19 win.
• Neither Germany, nor France were giving up in the next set, but in the last minutes of it, France were the better side.
• Things were different in the third set, as France did not perform well in defence and Germany took advantage of this.
• The French players weren’t ready to leave the sport hall and after a balanced start of the fourth set, they took control of the game, scoring six points in a row, showing good play on block and eventually bringing the match into a tiebreak.
• Although France were showing much fighting spirit, in the end the German players were more precise to seal a 15-12 win and 3-2 victory.
Manuel Hartmann, head coach of Germany: “The result from the match of Turkey vs. Serbia was a positive one for us. As for our match, maybe we could have won without giving one point away. Both teams showed ups and downs in their play. Tomorrow we play against Russia, they are really strong, but maybe if we manage to play free from any pressure, there is a chance to beat the Russian team.”
Philippe-Marie Salvan, head coach of France: “Today we knew that the U19 European Championship is over for us. It is difficult to explain the feeling. We are frustrated and disappointed, because we know that we made too many small mistakes that cost us too much in the important moments. This is a problem of the team and we couldn’t solve it. We can’t afford playing at two different levels from one set to the next.”
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