04/06/2019 21:00
Cyprus claim historic victory under the eyes of CEV President
CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2019
Nicosia, Cyprus, June 4, 2019. With CEV President Aleksandar Boričić among those in attendance, the women’s national team of Cyprus made history on Tuesday night by storming to a comprehensive 3-0 victory (25-10, 25-19, 25-19) over Georgia and claim their first ever win in the CEV Volleyball European Silver League. Cyprus have returned to the European League stage after securing the silver medal at last week’s Games of the Small States of Europe in Montenegro.
Cyprus caught a flying start to the match and did well especially at blocking to lead by a massive 16-6 in the first set. The hosts did not slow their tempo down to secure a landslide 25-10 victory in 18 minutes only.
The course of the match changed a bit in the second set, where the score remained close with Georgia even edging ahead at 13-10. Cyprus, however, fought their way back, leading by five points at 21-16 before closing the set at 25-19 in their favour.
As they struggled a bit in reception, Cyprus trailed 7-10 in the third set but the players coached by Ioannis Nikolakis responded with the help of Katerina Zakchaiou. Georgia Stavrinides scored an ace for 17-12 before Cyprus closed the match at 25-19 to celebrate a historic victory with 400 fans in attendance at University of Cyprus Athletic Centre.
Ioannis Nikolakis, head coach of Cyprus: “It is a truly historic victory for us. As people may have seen, the team stuck together following the Games of the Small States of Europe and tonight we did not leave any chance to Georgia to find their way into the game. Despite this historic victory, our goals have not changed at all – actually, they remain the same, as our intention is play as good as we can every match we contest. Of course, there is some fatigue and tiredness after so many matches and the travelling, but together with the staff, we have found ways for the players to relax and regenerate.”
Andrea Charalambous, player of Cyprus: “We won rather easily. We executed the game plan we had agreed with our coach and we eventually won. I think that we were ready for this match thanks to the Games of the Small States of Europe we played last week. I hope we can still do better.”
Manolina Konstantinou, top scorer of the match with 15 points: “It is a very important victory because this is our first participation in the Silver European League. We imposed our rhythm since the start of the match and I think it is important for such a small island like Cyprus to achieve such victories. It goes without saying that we want to win again and we will fight for a victory at every match we contest.”
Gvantsa Ulumbelashvili, player of Georgia: “We wanted to play better, but we could not quite succeed in doing so. In a few days, we will have another match with Cyprus, this time at home and we hope to do better. I know we have three losses in as many matches this far but we have another three to play and we will try to improve and win.”
CEV President Aleksandar Boričić commented: “This victory is very important, but it is even more important for Cyprus that they are making their first appearance in the European League – which shows that your national team continues to improve. It obviously is a historic victory for Cyprus – but people should continue to work hard knowing that one day you win and the next day you may lose.”
Earlier in the day, the CEV President had a meeting with the President of the Cyprus Sports Organisation, Mr Andreas Michaelides, and the Minister of Education, Mr Kostas Champiaouris. “I would like to praise the cooperation established by the Cyprus Volleyball Federation with their respective national authorities, especially with regards to the organisation of seminars that help develop Volleyball even further. Through my visit to Cyprus, I hope to help solve any outstanding problems so that Cyprus becomes one of the strongest Volleyball countries in their region. It is also important to find ways so that Cyprus can host an age-group European Championship in future.”
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