Luxembourg, May 26, 2018.  Austria mastered a straight-set away victory at Georgia to open the third leg of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League - Women. Coach Svetlana Ilic’s squad registered their third win in three matches and top the current standings in Pool B. In Pool A, Sweden are three in three as well after they managed a spectacular comeback at Estonia, denying seven match points for the opponent in the third set before turning things around to a five-set win.


POOL A

Estonia vs. Sweden 2-3 (25-17, 25-18, 33-35, 20-25, 7-15)

•    The third set was a real thriller to be remembered for a long time as Estonia had seven match points to use! Sweden eventually won the set 35-33.
•    The leader of Sweden, Isabelle Haak, finished the game with 31 points.
•    The third set was the turning point in the game. After that Estonia lacked power and Haak led her team to a 3-2 win.



Nette Peit, player of Estonia: “We had a tremendous start as our service worked really well in the first and the second sets, while Sweden had problems with their reception and passing. The change came when we started to make too many errors in serving. The third set was insane. I don’t think I have ever played a set that long.”

Guillermo Gallardo, coach of Sweden: “We did not expect Estonia to start so powerfully and we were not ready. Then I made some changes and we got our things in order. After the third set, the opponent became more and more unstable and we, on the other hand, gained confidence. I am happy to have a player like Isabelle Haak on my team. She had a great game.”

Switzerland vs. Kosovo 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-17)

Switzerland needed only one hour to seize their first victory in the 2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League – Women. The Swiss grabbed a straight 3-0 win (25-14, 25-15, 25-17) without leaving any chances to their opponents. On the other hand, Kosovo just couldn’t find their rhythm.

•    It is the first victory for the Swiss national team in the history of the #EuroLeagueW. Timo Lippuner’s squad desperately needed this win in order to keep their hopes of making the Final Round alive after their previous losses in Sweden and Estonia.
•    Returnee Maja Storck outshone everybody with an outstanding performance. The opposite spiker topped the scoring list with 16 points – including eight block points.
•    Livia Zaugg became Best Server by recording four aces.
•    Switzerland controlled Kosovo’s attacking game with a strong performance at the net. The Swiss gathered 17 block points in three sets.
•    Kosovo, on the other hand, were not able to stop the Swiss offensive power. Every second Swiss attack directly resulted in a point for the home squad.


 
Laura Kuenzler, player of Switzerland: “I think we were a little bit nervous in the beginning of the match. After the two defeats in Sweden and Estonia, we wanted to prove ourselves in front of our own fans. Therefore, we are just happy about the result and our first win in the history of the #EuroLeagueW. Nevertheless, our goal is to reach the Final Round. That is the reason why we must not rest on our laurels and have to keep on working in order to make our dream come true.”  

Timothy Lippuner, coach of Switzerland: “Of course, we started into the game as big favourites. Nevertheless, I think there are still some major points we have to work on in the future – for example our passing game. We are glad that Maja Storck is back in the squad. Maja played her first game in this year’s edition of the #EuroLeagueW and did a great job. Now we have to focus on the rematch in Prishtina next week and make sure we are 100% ready.”

Fjolla Shabani, player of Kosovo: “I think there are still some positive things we can take from this game. However, undoubtedly, we could have done better today. Nevertheless, I think we can be proud of our fighting spirit today. Now, we want to focus on the rematch in Prishtina on Wednesday, May 30, and do better in front of our home crowd.”

POOL B

Georgia vs. Austria 0-3 (17-25, 14-25, 14-25)

•    Georgia hosted this match on the day the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of its independence.
•    Austria dominated throughout the match, the second in history between these two teams.
•    Austria’s Nikolina Maros scored 18 points, including six aces, to top the charts.



Tinatin Tchautchidze, player of Georgia: “It was very difficult for us to play today, because we were without one of our key players, Ann Kalandadze, who has an injury on her ankle after the match with Israel. We hope to do better in our next matches.”

Svetlana Ilic, coach of Austria: “First of all, I would like to congratulate my team. The main difficulty for us was the trip from Albania to Georgia, because we had a game there three days ago and it was a great experience for us. Also I know that this is not the best representation of the Georgian team because we faced each other last year in the World Championship qualifications and I understand that it is difficult to play without the main hitter of the team, but this is the story of Georgia; ours is that we are one step closer to reaching the Final Four.”

Israel vs. Albania 0-3 (18-25, 16-25, 14-25)

•    At the end of the first set, Vitalia Marmen had to leave the court because of an ankle injury.
•    Shirel Ganah (no. 23) made her debut with the senior national team at the age of 16.
•    Albania took the lead in all three sets right from the start and won quite easily.
•    In the second set, Albania were 10 points ahead of their opponent when leading 20-10.
•    This happened again in the following set when they were 18-8 up.
•    Erblira Bici and Polina Malik top scored for Albania and Israel with 19 and 13 points, respectively.



Giuseppe Cuccarini, coach of Israel: “We started the match well and in the first set we played a good game. Unfortunately, Vitalia Marmen was injured and forced to leave the game, which hurt us very much. I hope we will know how to play better for the next match in the pool.”

Altin Martiri, coach of Albania: “This was a very important game for us, we played very well and I am very pleased with the team’s performance. In three days, we meet the Israeli team at home and a victory there will guarantee us a spot in the Final Four.”

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