05/07/2012 21:00
Celebration in Karlovy Vary as local heroines make it to final match
2012 CEV Volleyball European League - Women
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, July 5, 2012. The Czech Republic will meet Bulgaria in the final of the 2012 CEV Volleyball European League – Women. The Czech team beat The Netherlands 3:1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-17) in the second semi-final of the Final Four being held in Karlovy Vary and advanced to the last act of the competition for the first time in history.
The KV Arena sports hall of the Czech city of Karlovy Vary turned into a Volleyball celebration, as the local heroines overpowered The Netherlands in an impressive demonstration of efficiency. The players trained by Carlo Parisi used the momentum found in the support of the 2'600 spectators attending the game to beat the Dutch squad and qualify for the Final, thus earning the right to fight for the CEV European League title in their second participation in the Final Four.
The desire for victory of the Czech team was certified early in the match, since the local squad signed a convincing opening set, in which The Netherlands succumbed to the offensive power of their rivals (25-17).
The Netherlands, in their appearance in the CEV Volleyball European League, did not give up after such an effective start by their opponents and took the lead in the second period, as the Dutch players found a way to put a momentary end to the locals’ force, through the offensive performance by Lonneke Sloetjes and Quinta Steenbergen (20-25).
However, the reaction by the “oranjes” constituted just a temporary interruption in the Czechs’ path to victory, since the host team recovered the control of the game in the following sets, in a spectacular offensive performance lead by Aneta Havlickova. The attacks by the opposite player (30 points in the match) helped the locals to close a disputed and equalized third period (25-23), while they contributed to set the pace for a clear domination in the fourth stage of the game. In the last period, the Dutch squad failed to respond to its rivals’ hunger for success, and the distribution by Lucie Muhlsteinova completed the perfect performance of the local team, to put the 25-17 that meant the definitive 3:1 and the qualification of the Czech Republic for the Final.
“I am very happy that we won, The Netherlands are a very good team”, said Czech captain, Helena Havelkova. “We really prepared this match so I am very pleased with this result, because we did everything we had to beat them”, added the wing-spiker.
“It wasn’t an easy match for us; we faced a very strong team, but we were ready for this moment and we were able to enter the court in the right disposition”, said the head coach of the Czech Republic, Carlo Parisi. “We had the opportunity to take profit of their mistakes to lead the game, especially in those moments when they got close in the scoreboard. Now we have to think about tomorrow”, commented Parisi, who defined the Final game as “a very difficult match”. “We have seen Bulgaria and it is a very good team; actually, Bulgaria eliminated Serbia, so it will be a difficult match, but we have to give it a try”, pointed out the Italian head coach.
“We made too many mistakes”, analyzed the head coach of The Netherlands, Gido Vermeulen. “Our errors, especially in side out, made the difference. Also, the precision of the attack of the Czech team was much better than ours, and that’s the reason for this result”, said.
“We made the effort to confront the Czech team but they played a great game. We were just not good enough”, added the Dutch captain, Debby Stam-Pilon.
The Final of 2012 CEV Volleyball European League – Women will showcase a spectacular match between the local team of the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, scheduled for Friday at 18:00 GMT +1.
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