Luxembourg, May 19, 2018. Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Azerbaijan and Czech Republic started their journey in the CEV Volleyball Golden European League with victories over Slovakia, Portugal, Finland, Ukraine and Spain respectively. Belarus and Slovakia were the first teams to serve their fans a five-setter, while Bulgaria and Croatia claimed straight-set victories on home courts. Azerbaijan were fortunate to experience the biggest crowd of supporters among the winners today, as they defeated Ukraine in four sets, but not without facing a challenge from their opponent. The support of the local fans was not enough for Spain, who faced a loss against Czech Republic in three sets. 

Pool A

Bulgaria vs. Portugal 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-19)

• Bulgaria started their campaign in the first-ever edition of the Volleyball Golden European League with a comfortable 3-0 win against Portugal. 
• The hosts controlled the game from the very first point and claimed their first victory in Pool A in just over an hour.
• Gergana Dimitrova finished as top scorer for the winners with 14 points.
• The captain of the team Hristina Ruseva added 12 points to the Bulgarian count.
• For Portugal Maria Maio contributed 7 points. 
• The match in Hristo Botev hall was the official debut for the new head coach of the Bulgarian team Ivan Petkov.
• In the minutes before the first whistle Lora Kitipova and Silvana Chausheva, who celebrated their birthday today, were surprised with a beautiful bunch of flowers from the rest of the team.

Ivan Petkov, coach of Bulgaria: “It’s normal to be satisfied after a 3-0 victory. I’m satisfied and happy with the way we played. The ideas which we try to involve in our game I think we showed them today. I expect a difficult match against Ukraine next week. They are a good team and it will be tough for sure, so we must prepare really, really well.” 

Hristina Ruseva, captain of Bulgaria: “I’m really satisfied and really proud because this year we have a lot of young players. All of the girls did a great job today! We were concentrated from the first point and achieved our goal – to defeat Portugal in straight sets.”

Manuel Almeida, coach of Portugal: “It was a very tough match for us. I’m not satisfied with our performance in the opening set. It was a moment of adaptation for our girls and we didn’t show our abilities and power. After this setback, we started to play a little bit better in the next two sets. I’m pleased with our performance in these two parts. I think Bulgaria are the favourite in this Pool but now we have another difficult match against a strong opponent – Azerbaijan. I expect a tough match and hope my team will play better than today.”

Azerbaijan vs. Ukraine 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-23, 28-26)

• Azerbaijan did not find their optimal game in the first set. The visitors showed high speed and strong reception. Anna Stepaniuk and Anastasiia Kraiduba played very effectively in attack. As a result, Ukraine won the first set 25-16.
• In the second set, the home team celebrated a fan-inspired takeover. Katerina Zhidkova and Yelyzaveta Samadova used their chances in attack. The reception was more solid and Azerbaijan won the set 25-19.
• The third set started with a Ukrainian 4-0 lead, but Azerbaijan scored seven points in a row. The visitors made some mistakes in reception and Azerbaijan took the set 25-23.
• In the fourth set, Ukraine changed their game and showed massive blocking and good performance in attack. Azerbaijan’s coach Faig Garayev gave a chance to Krystsina Yagubova and Marharyta Azizova and Azerbaijan won the set 28-26 and the match 3-1.
• Ukraine’s Anastasiia Kraiduba was the game’s best scorer with 26 points.

Faig Garayev, coach of Azerbaijan: “I congratulate my team! The game against Ukraine was a big challenge. After the training camp in Slovenia, we played our first official game of the season. The girls showed the will to win and pleased the home fans. Now we will start preparing for the next match.”

Yelyzaveta Samadova, player of Azerbaijan: “Great emotions! A very difficult game and an excellent win! The fourth set was very close. We lost seven points, but returned to the game. I know we will play better in the next matches. We want to win our pool.”

Gariy Yegiazarov, coach of Ukraine: “My team started the game very well, but finally the girls did not have faith in themselves. We hope to show good results in our next games.”

Anna Stepaniuk, player of Ukraine: “We lost the first game, but everything is just starting now. We played well in some moments, but Azerbaijan were better. We hope to take our revenge at home.”

Pool B

Croatia vs. Finland 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-19)

• After a tough start, Croatia took the lead and won the first set 25-21.
• The crucial moment of the match happened in the second set. It was a very dynamic set and in the conclusive moments Croatia turned a 21-23 deficit into a 26-24 win to double their lead.
• In the third set, Finland could not find the strength to come back, which made it easier for Croatia to win in straight sets and tally their first three points after 25-19.
• Samanta Fabris scored 21 times for Croatia to top the charts of the match.

Samanta Fabris, player of Croatia: “For us it was very important to win the first game, especially in front of our fans. The first set wasn't good for us as we had problems in defence, but later it got better and we showed what we can do.”

Tapio Kangasniemi, coach of Finland: “We were quite good in some moments of the game, but there's a lots of things we have to fix. The first set was good, but Croatia were better and deserved to win.”

Pool C

Slovakia vs. Belarus 2-3 (24-26, 25-18, 24-26, 25-21, 8-15)

• This was the fifteenth time Slovakia and Belarus faced each other. Of the previous 14 matches Slovakia won 10, while Belarus emerged victorious on four occasions.
• The last time Slovakia and Belarus locked horns was during the 2016 European League, playing in Albania and Poland. Slovakia won on both occasions. 
• Marco Fenoglio made his debut on Slovakia’s bench as team coach.
• Karin Sunderlikova was the best scorer in the match, with 22 points for Slovakia. Anzhelika Barysevich impressed the crowd with six blocks, becoming the best scorer for Belarus with 19 points overall. 

Marco Fenoglio, coach of Slovakia: “I am disappointed, because I think we could have won this match. We made some mistakes in the fifth set and they played better than we did. Despite the loss, I am satisfied with the attitude, my team fought and this is a good omen for the future.”

Karin Šunderlíková, opposite of Slovakia: “It is a pity that we lost such close first and third sets. We started slowly, but we found our rhythm and we came back to the match. I think that we can win on Wednesday in Minsk, because we can play at the same level as Belarus.”

Piotr Khilko, head coach of Belarus: “This was a very tough match. Our setter is playing for the first time with the national team, while Slovakia was playing very well and had great support from the fans, so as I said, it was a very difficult match with a happy end for us. Before the fifth set I told my girls to forget everything and just focus on each move, each rally.”

Tatsiana Markevich, captain of Belarus: “We had an exhausting journey to Slovakia, as we did not sleep much, but I am happy that we finally won. With our young setter we need to work more to find the right chemistry on the court.”

Spain vs. Czech Republic 0-3 (23-25, 21-25, 12-25)

• Spain controlled the first set but they couldn't capitalise. The Czech rallied and reacted, reducing the gap before finally winning the first set.
• 150 young players were in attendance for “Evento Pequevoley”, a side activity to promote Volleyball for the youngest fans.
• Czech blocking was key, paving their way to victory in the second set.
• Spain’s performance decreased dramatically, resulting in a weak third set. The Czech Republic kept solid and remained a strong team.
• Andrea Kossanyiova was the top scorer of the match with 15 points. Katerina Holaskova from the bench made five blocks.

Marie Toufarova, player of Czech Republic: “The first match of the Golden European League, it was not an easy game. We are a very young team, we were a little bit nervous in the beginning of the match. As the score got closer, we were aggressive and confident. The rest of the match we were focused on our goal.”

María Segura, player of Spain: “I think we really played two very good sets. We had too many mistakes on the serve. Our level went down.”