30/03/2013 22:45
The Netherlands outclass Germany, Serbia and Turkey win second match
2013 CEV Youth Volleyball European Championship - Girls
Kladovo, Serbia, March 30, 2013. On day 2 of the 2013 CEV Youth Volleyball European Championship – Girls in Kladovo, Serbia, the Netherlands proved too strong for Friday’s winners Germany (3:1). Host Serbia (straight-set win versus France) and titleholder Turkey (3:1 victory over Russia) booked their second win.
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Turkey vs. Russia 3:1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 25-20)
It was the match of the day at "Jezero" Sports Hall Sports in Kladovo as the reigning European Champions Turkey beat Russia 3:1. Turkey`s Hande Baladin topped the scorers chart with 20 points, including 6 block kills.
Right from the start of the match, Turkey played very aggressively. With great serves and solid defense, the young Turks quickly broke the Russian spirit. Turkey’s Ada Germen was brilliant on serve, and she guided her team to an early 15-4 lead. The Russian girls couldn`t recover, and Turkey finished in style 25-13.
In the middle of the second set, Russia slowly but steadily raised their game level, and the teams entered the finishing stage of the second period with equal chances at 19-19. The tall Russian ladies gained a three-point lead at 22-19, but Turkey bounced back to one point at 21-22. Russia’s head coach Yury Shchuplov called his girls off court to reorganize tactics. It helped as Turkey found no solutions to catch the East Europeans.
Even though Russia never gave up, the Turkish express moved too fast today. The Turks rapidly recovered from their set loss and dominated set No. 3 and 4 masterfully. For Russia it was the second consecutive setback after their 2:3 defeat against Germany yesterday.
Catma Sahin, Turkey Head Coach: "This was an extremely important match for us. Yesterday we also had a big match, but this one was crucial. However, we must continue winning if we want to be on top.”
Russia Head Coach Yury Shchuplov: "We struggled today with reception and that was the main reason for our loss. We have to train more, and hopefully we`ll do better in the following matches".
The Netherlands vs. Germany 3:1 (25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23)
In tonight’s second Pool II match, the Netherlands surprised Friday’s winners Germany 3:1. Juliet Lohuis and Marrit Jasper topped the scorers of the winning team with 17 points, while Julia Schaffer booked 21 kills for the losers.
Germany couldn`t find their way around in the first two sets. The almost impenetrable Dutch block-defense system with Juliet Lohuis, Nicole Oude Luttikhuis, Britt Bongaerts as well as Lynn Braakhuis made it virtually impossible for the German ladies to score (the Dutch quartet booked 13 block kills).
Germany started to wake up in the second set, but it was too late to avoid a comfortable 2:0 lead for the surprisingly resurgent Dutch team (25-21). Although Jens Tietböhl’s squad showed a great comeback in the third set, the young Germans couldn’t pull through in the fourth period as the Netherlands picked up their game and booked a well-deserved 3:1 win.
Saskia van Hintum, the Netherlands Head Coach: „We played more aggressively than yesterday. In the match with Serbia we started well but then we stopped. Tonight we didn`t let that happen. I am very pleased with the way my team reacted after last night`s loss.”
Germany head coach Jens Tietböhl: „The Dutch team was obviously better in the first two sets. My girls were a little bit scared, and the Dutch girls gave their best“.
The Netherlands captain Marrit Jasper: “Today we played a perfect match. Everything worked; our serve, the communication on the court, everything. I am very happy.”
Germany captain Steffi Martha Kuhn: „We were a bit nervous in the beginning, but we showed that we wanted to play. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Tomorrow is a new day, and I think we`ll perform better“.
Serbia vs. France 3:0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-22)
Host Serbia booked their second win by beating France in straight sets. The home crowd‘s favorites Serbia had no major problems in their second match as they were flawless against the French youngsters. Serbian receiver Bojana Milenkovic topped the scorers with 14 points.
Right from the beginning, the local stars set the pace. The French girls, overwhelmed by the atmosphere and the aggressive Serbian attackers, couldn`t react. In the second period, France improved a lot and stayed close until the end, but Serbia`s block, especially Maja Aleksic’, played a crucial role in dealing with delicate situations. Even though “les bleus” did their best to bounce back, Serbia stayed focused in the third and last set to book their second win at 2013 CEV Youth Volleyball European Championship – Girls.
Marijana Boricic, Serbia Head Coach: “We played very well today. In some moments we were not attentive, but that’s normal. Tomorrow we are playing with Russia, and we must prepare well because we have already lost a friendly match against them.”
France Head Coach Serge Marouteau: „We had a chance to win a set today. Our goal is to reach the World Championship, but we have to start winning matches in order to do so“.
The Preliminary Phase of the 2013 CEV Youth Volleyball European Championship – Girls is split into two pools of six teams with the top two from each pool advancing to the semifinals. Pool I comprises host Montenegro, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, the Czech Republic as well as Poland. Pool II sees the local heroines from Serbia defending their reputations versus Russia, Germany, France, Turkey and the Netherlands.
The final ranking of the 2013 CEV Youth Volleyball European Championship – Girls will determine the six teams representing Europe at this year’s FIVB Girls' Youth World Championship coming up later this summer in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, as well as the eight nations taking part at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Utrecht (NED).
The matches of preliminary Pool I as well as all semi-final and final matches are available live and for free at www.laola1.tv. On the other hand, all matches of Pool II are streamed on the official website of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia and namely under the following URL: http://eng.ossrb.org.
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