Halle/Westphalia, Germany, September 8, 2013. Host Germany secured their quarterfinal ticket with a faultless straight-set win over Turkey (25-19, 25-23, 27-25). Turkey and the Netherlands move to the playoff round. In Sunday’s first Pool A duel, The Dutch outclassed Spain 25-16, 25-14, 25-18.
In the “final” of Pool A, Germany booked their third consecutive win with a straight-set triumph (25-19, 25-23, 27-25) over unbeaten Turkey and thus qualified for the quarterfinals. Best players of the match were Gözde Sonsirma Kirdar with 15 points for Turkey and Margareta Kozuch contributing 13 points for Germany.
6.900 thrilled fans saw a dominating German team in the first set. Germany, with Maren Brinker on fire, started with a four-point run to move the scoreboard to 7-4 early in the first set. German libero Lenka Dürr helped her teammates with great defence actions. At the second technical time-out, the team of head coach Giovanni Guidetti already led by four points and never looked back. Captain Margareta Kozuch converted the last ball to an undisputed 25-19 first set win. Maren Brinker contributed seven points for Germany in the first set.
In the second set, Turkey tried to set the pace, leading by two points at 3-1. However, 2011 runner-up Germany reacted with precise receptions and a strong offense led by setter Kathleen Weiss to make it 10-7. Turkey fired back with an excellent Gözde Sonsirma Kirdar (six kills) and powerful serves to turn tables at 16-10. However, the German ladies kept cool and showed an impressive finish. Jennifer Gerties and a clever Kathleen Weiss booked the decisive points at the end of the second set – delighting the home crowd with high-class Volleyball.
The German team kept momentum in the beginning of the third set and quickly gained a 6-2 lead. Massimo Barbolini called his ladies off court to make a clear statement. It helped as Turkey increased their performance and played much better in service reception. Furthermore, the Turkish middle-blockers stopped the powerful spikers Kozuch and Brinker several times in a row. At the second technical break, Turkey led by three points. However, Germany was simply too strong today. Thanks to captain Margareta Kozuch, the Guidetti team celebrated a spectacular comeback. Germany saved two Turkish set balls at 22-24 before two winners and a block kill from Kozuch ended a great game in Germany’s favour.
Germany captain Margareta Kozuch: “I´m really happy about this victory and the first place in our pool. Now we have one day more for recovering and preparation. The next games will be very difficult. I´m proud of our team and our coaches.”
Germany head coach Giovanni Guidetti: “It was a strange match but we were extremely motivated and disciplined. I think the team made a big step. Our next game will be very hard. But the past days gave me a lot of hope.”
Turkey captain Neslihan Darnel: “It was a good game for Germany. We made many mistakes and we know we have to play better in the future.”
Turkey head coach Massimo Barbolini: “Germany played a good match. We missed our chances for a comeback. However, it was a good experience for us. Now we have to analyse our mistakes and prepare for the upcoming challenges.”
The Netherlands send Spain home
Good things come to those who wait. After two 2:3 defeats, the Netherlands celebrated their first victory at the 2013 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women with a straight-set win (25-16, 25-14, 25-18) over Spain. With today’s triumph, the team of head coach Gido Vermeulen booked their ticket for the playoff round.
Spain kick started with great action by Milagros Collar who gained a 4-3 lead. The team of Gido Vermeulen turned the tables and tried to put a lot of pressure on Rocio Gomez Lopez in service reception. The Netherlands kept control of the match by opening the gap to four points at 15-11. Compared to the first two games, Spain fought bravely. However, the “Oranjes” increased their performance in attack (63%) and wrapped up the set 25-16.
Things did not change in the second set. The Netherlands dominated their opponents in almost all aspects of the game. Maret Grothues led her team to a three-point lead at the first technical time-out. The Spanish team tried its best again and delighted the fans with some great block actions. Nevertheless, the game of the Dutch was too dominant in attack and defense. An unforced error of Milagros Collar brought up the first set point for the “Oranjes”; Anne Buijs closed it out at 25-14.
Spain led 7-3 in the beginning of the third set. It seemed as the girls from Netherlands temporary lost concentration. However, Gido Vermeulen found the right words in the technical time-out as his girls cut the distance to only one point at 10-11 and took the lead two rallies later (12-11). At that moment of the set, the Spanish team could not deal with the power of the Netherlands and had to accept their third consecutive defeat at 2013 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women, being hence eliminated from the competition.
Top scorer of the game was Manon Flier with 13 points; Milagros Collar from Spain realized 10 points.
The Netherlands head coach Gido Vermeulen: “It was a nice game; we tried to make it as short as possible. We worked well in defense and block.”
The Netherlands captain Maret Grothues: “We had no other options than winning and made a good job. We were much focused and played with a lot of energy.”
Spain head coach Francisco Hervas: “Congratulations to the team of the Netherlands. It was great to play at EuroVolley 2013. Every game was very tough.”
Spain captain Patricia Aranda Munoz: “We have to recognize that we had no chance to win a game and wish the other teams all the best.”
The Preliminary Phase of the 2013 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women was split into four pools of four teams with the top three from each pool advancing to the next competition stage. The first ranked teams of each pool are directly qualified for the quarterfinals, while the second and third ranked teams will fight for the last four quarterfinal tickets.
For the first time in history, 130 countries with all five continents involved cover the Women's EuroVolley.
CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women
Records of the last five editions
2011 in Italy/Serbia: Serbia (gold), Germany (silver), Turkey (bronze)
2009 in Poland: Italy (gold), the Netherlands (silver), Poland (bronze)
2007 in Belgium/Luxembourg: Italy (gold), Serbia (silver), Russia (bronze)
2005 in Croatia: Poland (gold), Italy (silver), Russia (bronze)
2003 in Turkey: Poland (gold), Turkey (silver), Germany (bronze)
CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women
All-time medal table
1. Russia (17 gold / 4 silver / 3 bronze), 2. Poland (2/4/5), 3. Germany (2/5/3), 4. Italy (2/2/2), 5. The Czech Republic (1/4/4), 6. The Netherlands (1/2/1), 7. Bulgaria (1/0/2), 8. Serbia (1/1/1), 9. Croatia (0/3/0), 10. Hungary (0/1/3), 11. Turkey (0/1/1), 12. Romania (0/0/1). 12. Ukraine (0/0/1).
World Ranking – Women (participating teams)
4. Italy, 6. Russia, 7. Serbia, 9. Germany, 11. Turkey, 13. Poland, 18. The Netherlands, 22. The Czech Republic, 31. Croatia, 31. Bulgaria, 36. Azerbaijan, 39. Belgium, 39. Belarus, 42. Spain, 42. France, 109. Switzerland.
For further information visit the official website or click here for a detailed match schedule of the playoff round.