02/06/2018 06:50
Road to Nyköping continues in Silver #EuroLeagueW
2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League - Women
Luxembourg, June 1, 2018. The programme of the Silver #EuroLeagueW features four matches this weekend, three on Saturday and another one on Sunday as teams fight for their spot in the Final Four due to take place in Nyköping, Sweden on June 16-17. Austria have a perfect record of four wins in as many matches in Pool B and have virtually secured their qualification for the Finals before they play Albania at home. In Pool A, Sweden host Kosovo as Estonia – the other team next to the Swedes with a record of three wins and one loss – travel to Switzerland for their third and last away match in the competition.
Pool A
Sweden vs. Kosovo
• After the tough loss Wednesday versus Estonia, the Swedish women’s national team have their sights set on bouncing back. Challenging on the other side of the net in Saturday’s game in Nyköping is Team Kosovo, currently sitting fourth and last in the Silver European League Pool A. When the two sides clashed a little more than a week ago in Gjilan, Kosovo, the ‘blue and yellow’ visitors returned home with a three-set victory.
• The arena of Rosvalla in Nyköping will host the Silver European League Final Four, June 16-17.
• Later Saturday evening, the Swedish men’s national team will clash with Slovakia in the same arena in the fifth leg of the Golden European League.
• Swedish opposite hitter Isabelle Haak is the best scorer so far in the Silver European League with 105 points in four games and an average of 6.56 points per set.
Switzerland vs. Estonia
• Volleyball fans can look forward to an intense game as Switzerland want to avenge Estonia for the 2-3 loss they suffered back in May, while Estonia are poised to secure a spot in the Final Round of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League – Women with a win.
• Switzerland are on a roll since opposite Maja Storck’s comeback. Timo Lippuner’s squad overpowered Kosovo 3-0 in both games. Now the Swiss are willing to increase their winning streak to three wins in a row to stay in contention for a ticket to the Final Round.
• All eyes will be on Switzerland’s Laura Kuenzler. The Swiss outside spiker has gathered 69 points in fourteen sets and she was the third best scorer of the 2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League – Women after four rounds.
• The game will be a very special one for Estonia’s Anu Ennok too. The opposite spiker has been playing for Swiss top squad Sm’AESCH Pfeffingen since 2015 and will now play against some of her teammates for the first time on Swiss soil.
Tabea Dalliard, libero of Switzerland: “I think we have to do better in the end of the sets than we did in Estonia. We must stay focused and avoid letting them score too many consecutive points. In my opinion, it is a big advantage to play such a crucial game in front of our fans. This will give us an extra boost.”
Maja Storck, opposite spiker of Switzerland: “We are a little bit nervous as we need a win. Nevertheless, we have nothing to lose. On the other hand, in my opinion, there is more diversity in our game in comparison to the last matchup against Estonia. I am already looking forward to facing my former teammate Anu Ennok tomorrow. We played together for three years and we are good friends, but we both want this win.”
Anu Ennok, outside spiker of Estonia: “It feels special to face the Swiss national team here in Switzerland. Many of my friends from Basel promised to come to Geneva to watch the game tomorrow. Since Maja Storck’s comeback, the Swiss offensive game has become a lot more balanced than it was when we faced them in Estonia. However, we have improved too. We played two very strong games against Sweden and now we want to go for the win tomorrow.”
Pool B
Austria vs. Albania
• The Austrian women are just about to qualify for the 2018 Silver European League Final Four. The team of head coach Svetlana Ilic can secure first place in Pool B with a win over Albania on Saturday in Enns. The young Austrian national team (average age stands at 21.5 years) won the away match in Albania clearly in three sets.
• Monika Chrtianska scored 27 times on Wednesday against Georgia to move her total tally to 69 points, which makes her the third best scorer in this year’s Silver European League. “We are still hungry,” she says. “On Saturday, we want to perform again at the highest level and secure our participation in the Final Four.”
“Our aim was the Final Four. We cannot believe yet, that this has now nearly become reality,” said Katharina Holzer after the victory over Georgia in Amstetten on Wednesday.
The players fully agree on the reasons for the development of the women’s national team. Holzer: “Under Svetlana Ilic many things have changed. We have a more intense and longer programme in the summer. Nothing better than Ilic becoming our coach could have happened to us.” Monika Chrtianska gets to the point: “Ilic has shown us a completely different kind of Volleyball.”
Georgia vs. Israel
• Georgia are still to record their first victory in the competition.
• Israel claimed their home match with Georgia 3-1 in Ra’anana a week ago.
• These two teams do not stand any real chance of progressing to the Final Four and are using the European League as an opportunity to develop their younger players ahead of the #EuroVolleyW qualifiers starting later this summer.
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