05/06/2018 19:32
Teams to fight for top position in last round of Silver #EuroLeagueW pool action
2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League - Women
Luxembourg, June 5, 2018. It is all clear in the 2018 CEV Volleyball Silver European League – Women even before the last round of pool play, at least when it comes to participation in the Finals. Estonia, Austria and Albania will join hosts Sweden at the Final Four taking place next week in Nyköping. However, there is still quite something to play for as Sweden and Estonia battle for first place in Pool A – while Austria and Albania will be fighting for the top position in Pool B.
Pool A
Estonia vs. Kosovo
• Estonia already secured their spot in the Final Four, therefore there is nothing at stake in this game.
• The head coach of Estonia, Andrei Ojamets is going to give some rest to his leaders and give others the opportunity to play.
• Kosovo will try to earn their first set and game win in the tournament.
Andrei Ojamets, coach of Estonia: “As we already managed to secure our spot in the Final Four, I am going to give all my players the opportunity to enjoy the game, so our leaders will get more rest. This is also important that all my players have the feel of the game before the Final Four.”
Lorik Ilazi, coach of Kosovo: “The Estonian team is really good. I did not expect them to be this good. They play fast and have a lot of quality. For us it is a new experience to play in this league, but we try to get better and better with every game and to gain experience.”
Switzerland vs. Sweden
• This is the first international game held in the Betoncoupe Arena in Schönenwerd, a sports hall designed for Volleyball purposes only, something very rare in Switzerland.
• The first game between these two teams ended in a clear 0-3 loss for Switzerland who was playing without their second best player Maja Storck, absent due to her graduation exams from high school.
• Guillermo Gallardo, head coach of Team Sweden, worked for two years in Switzerland when he was coaching Volley KÖNIZ from 2013 to 2015. As the average age of the Swiss national team is very young (21 years), none of the current players of Team Switzerland played for Gallardo but several of them did play against him.
Timothy Lippuner, head coach of Team Switzerland: “The main goal of our participation in the CEV Silver European League was to prepare the qualifiers for the European Championship coming up later this summer. Of course, we would have liked to qualify for the Final Four, but even if this is not possible anymore, the game against Sweden is very important for us. We are a young team and need to use every opportunity to improve our level and find the optimal constellation - and finally we want to win every game we play.”
Pool B
Albania vs. Georgia
• Albania have won four matches out of five they have contested this far in the competition.
• They are still in contention for first place in the pool.
• Their star player Erblira Bici is the second best scorer in the competition this far on 115 points, 12 behind Sweden’s superstar Isabelle Haak.
Israel vs. Austria
• Israel will finish their journey in the 2018 European League on Wednesday when hosting Pool B leaders Austria.
• The young Israeli team started their campaign losing 1-3 to Austria in Klagenfurt before registering a 3-1 home victory over Georgia. However, since that day, Israel have lost three matches in a row in Pool B. They lost to Albania in Ra’anana and Tirana and most recently to Georgia in Tbilisi.
• Austria have already qualified for the Final Four due to take place in Nyköping, Sweden on June 16-17, 2018.
Giuseppe Cuccarini, head coach of Israel: “On Wednesday we will play against Austria in our last game; after five rounds, the visiting team is fighting with Albania for the first place in the pool. Up until now, we have shown a lack of consistency in our game with many ups and downs. I still think that our participation in this competition is very important for the international experience that our young players are gaining, and I hope that on Wednesday, we will see how well we can play and I am sure that all of my players want to achieve that goal.”
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