Durrës, Albania, September 6, 2018. Poland became the last team to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2018 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship - Women. On Thursday they showed great class and winning 3-0 over the Netherlands, they secured their spot among the best four teams at the competition. In the semi-final they will meet the first placed team from Pool II - Russia. Earlier on that day Belarus grabbed a 3-1 victory over Bulgaria, while Italy did not leave any chances to the hosts of Albania, sealing a 3-0 win to keep a perfect record in the pool. The Italians will be travelling to Tirana, topping the charts in Pool I and will play the runners-up from the other group, Turkey, locking horns for a spot in the gold medal match.

• Belarus started better in the match, taking the lead and despite Bulgaria´s efforts to fight back, won the first set with a margin of five points.
• The players of Natallia Melianiuk were performing a little bit better than their opponents, but Bulgaria tied the result at 12-12 in the second set. However, this was the only moment when it seemed that Bulgaria could take something more out of this set. 
• Both Bulgaria and Belarus were showing nice Volleyball skills in the next set with Bulgaria leading most of the time. However, Belarus tied the score at 20-20. Melianiuk tried to calm her players by taking a timeout, but the Bulgarian Lionesses came back in the match.
• Belarus showed that they learned their lesson in the next set and without any problems closed it at 25-15 in their favour. 

Natallia Melianiuk, head coach of Belarus: "In general, I am happy with this U19 European Championship as we had problems with injuries and the level of competition was very high. We will keep on preparing this group of players for the future."

Asen Metodiev, head coach of Bulgaria: "I am very disappointed with this Championship, as our performance did not match our expectations. Something was missing in our play - and it is more than just experience, we were missing self-confidence in the crucial moments."

Italy vs. Albania 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-19)

• As expected Italy started leading in the first set and despite a relatively respectable response from the host team of Albania, the Azzurrine opened the match with a solid 25-13 win. 
• Nothing changed in the second set either as Italy were leading at 12-6 when the head coach of Albania Roland Tarja called a timeout. It worked for a moment as the Albanian players got closer in the score (12-10), but it was definitely not enough as the hosts scored only four more points until the end of the set.
• Albania tried to fight in the last set, but Italy did not let any big surprises happen, thus sealing a 25-19 and 3-0 win.

Massimo Bellano, head coach of Italy: “We finish the group stage with five wins in five matches. I am happy that I had a chance to give all the girls the opportunity to play and they responded brilliantly. Our aim was to go to Tirana, but it is going to be a tough battle there, so let's wait and see.”

Roland Tarja, head coach of Albania: “Playing at #EuroVoleyU19W has been a great experience for us, and regardless of the defeats, I am happy with the fact that my young and inexperienced team improved their play match after match. The last two matches were good for us. This U19 European Championship was a great chance for our sport in Albania.”

Poland vs. The Netherlands 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-18)

• In the beginning of the last match of Pool I in "Dhimitraq Goga" sports Arena in Durrës the score was tied all the way to 11-11, before the Polish pulled away at 14-11. Despite the efforts of the Dutch team to change the situation, Poland resulted to be too strong, winning at 25-14. 
• Poland kept on showing their great will to continue to the semis as they did not give chances to the Netherlands to take the lead and with a massive 13-point difference closed the second set in their favour as well. 
• The third set was no different as the Polish players were just dominant. The Dutch team tried to react, but it was indeed too late for this and the Polish closed this set at 25-14. 

Waldemar Kawka, head coach of Poland: “I am happy with finishing in second place. I am happy also because my players showed a real fighting spirit on the court.  This is why we came to Albania and now we will go to Tirana motivated and inspired. Russia is a tough team, but I believe my team is capable of causing the surprise.”

Julien Van de Vyver, head coach of the Netherlands: “We entered the court, knowing that we cannot change anything when it comes to the final standing in the pool. This is why I decided to give time on the court to all of my players. I wanted to prevent injuries and tiredness. I am happy to stay at #EuroVolleyU19W and to play two more matches in Durrës. I think that all the teams will fight a lot for the fifth position.”