Tartu, Estonia, August 21, 2014. Greece rallied past the Netherlands 3:0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-16) in the last Preliminary Round match of Pool I on Thursday afternoon, thus offering the team of head coach Konstantinos Papadopoulos their well-deserved but unexpected spot for Saturday’s semifinals at 2014 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women in Tartu, Estonia. Serbia keep a clean sheet after their undisputed 3:0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-14) win over the Czech Republic, finishing Pool play with a perfect 5-0 match and 15-0 (!) set record.
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Saturday’s semifinals:
16:30 Serbia v Turkey
19:00 Slovenia v Greece
Classification matches 5-8:
11:30 The Czech Republic v Belgium
14:00 Bulgaria v Russia
The Netherlands v Greece 0:3 (15-25, 24-26, 16-25)
Captain Anthi Vasilantonaki led Greece to a merited straight-set (25-15, 26-24, 25-16) win over the Netherlands, scoring 19 points for her side. Best scorer for the Netherlands was Nicole Oude Luttikhuise with 10 kills. Greece secured the second rank in Pool I, uncatchable by the Czech Republic.
Serving four service winners and with an outstanding 58% quota in attack, Greece quickly took the upper hand in the first set of the much-awaited duel versus the Netherlands. Dutch setter Britt Bongaerts tried hard to force the pace with her middle blockers but missed a scorer like Vasilantonaki to kill high balls after imprecise receptions. Greece never looked back until 25-15 in the opening set.
Although the “Oranjes” had lost seven consecutive sets in the last three encounters, they did not give up in the second set. They steadily improved their passing, thus giving the team of head coach Matt Van Wezel more options at the net. The set result balanced on a knife’s edge until 24-24 before Vasilantonaki, with her tenth point in the second set, brought up set point from the right side. One rally later, Zacharoula Giannelou closed it out with a spectacular service winner to make it 26-24 and 2:0 for Greece.
The story of the match did not change in the third and last set. The “Oranjes” did their best to push the young Greek talents beyond their limits but eventually failed. The Greeks kept calm, cruising to an unquestionable 25-16 set and 3:0 match win.
Greece head coach Konstantinos Papadopoulos: "It's an incredible feeling to finish second and play for the medals. We were determined to conclude the match in a way that everything remained in our hands.”
Greece captain Anthi Vasilantonaki: "We played the whole match very well, while the Netherlands showed their best game only in the second set. We knew exactly what to do on the court and my team did a great job."
The Netherlands head coach Matt Van Wezel: "Vasilantonaki got 40 sets and scored almost half of them, that's crazy. On the other hand my team committed too many unforced errors and mistakes in reception and serve."
The Netherlands captain Britt Bongaerts: "The second set was really close but Greece scored in the important moments and we didn't."
The Czech Republic v Serbia 0:3 (18-25, 16-25, 14-25)
2012 runner-up Serbia won their fifth consecutive duel in the 2014 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women Preliminary Round on Thursday, beating the Czech Republic in straight sets (25-18, 25-16, 25-14) at A. Le Coq Sports Hall in Tartu, Estonia. Sara Lozo and Tijana Boskovic led Serbia with 13 and 12 points respectively; the Czech Republic’s top scorer was Michaela Mlejnkova with five points. Serbia had seven block points to the Czech Republic’s three. Serbia outserved the young Czech ladies 13-1.
The team of head coach Ondrej Marek showed good resistance in the first phase of the match, leading 8-6 at the first technical timeout. However, Serbia progressively started their engines and turned the tables in the middle of the opening set. 5-1 block winners, 4-1 aces and more power in attacking were the main reasons for Serbia’s supremacy. Serbia never looked back until the final 25-18.
Although Serbian head coach Marijana Boricic made several substitutions in the second and third set, the flawless Serbian talents quickly cruised to a relaxed 3:0 win (25-16, 25-14). Bojana Milenkovic ended Pool play for Serbia with a service winner. The Czechs – on the other hand – needed too many attempts to score, finishing third in Pool I.
Serbia head coach Marijana Boricic: "Today’s victory was important for us to maintain our confidence. I had the chance to give many players the possibility to play and I'm satisfied with their job. Everyone showed that they have strong qualities and can help the team."
Serbia top scorer Sara Lozo: "It was easy to play as we felt no pressure. The Czechs can play better but they looked sad to have dropped out of the top four already before the last match."
Czech Republic head coach Ondrej Marek: "We tried to motivate our players for the match but didn't succeed. However, playing in the classification matches is already an achievement for us.”
Czech Republic captain Marie Kurkova: "We wanted to win but Serbia was a really strong team. Only the teams who can stop their best attackers can compete with Serbia in this tournament."
Bulgaria v Estonia 3:0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-23)
After three consecutive defeats, Bulgaria ended their Preliminary Pool play with a straight-set win over hosts Estonia on Thursday evening. In front of 200 spectators, the team of head coach Petar Dochev proved too strong for the self-sacrificing Estonians (25-21, 25-14, 25-23). Bulgaria finish fourth in Pool I, taking on Russia in Saturday’s classification matches in the race for the fifth rank.
Best scorer in Thursday’s third match at A. Le Coq Sports Hall was Bulgaria’s Miroslava Paskova with 21 points. Kristiine Miilen helped the Estonian side with 13 kills.
Bulgaria showed more determination than in the previous matches and cruised to an unquestionable 2:0 set lead (25-21, 25-14). Bulgaria’s eight to Estonia’s four block winners were one of the arguments for Bulgaria’s supremacy. However, Bulgaria’s main weapon was their offense (30 points in the two first sets).
Although the hosts bounced back strongly in the third frame (23-23), they eventually could not prevent the young Bulgarians from booking their second win at 2014 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women. Iveta Stanchulova closed it out at 25-23 with a block winner.
Bulgaria head coach Petar Dochev: "We missed it yesterday to reach the final four but I'm satisfied that my team has showed a strong match today. Our target is now to play without pressure and give our best against a strong Russian team."
Bulgaria captain Gergana Dimitrova: "Actually this match was pretty easy for us. In the third set we started lazy but found our rhythm in the end."
Estonia head coach Peeter Vahtra: "I'm really satisfied that we had once in a lifetime the possibility to prepare 40 days for such a tournament. I have to admit that the opponents in this tournament were too strong for us. However, in the end I'm glad that my girls gave 100% in every match."
Estonia setter Karmen Reivik: "It was a good fight today and we tried our best but Bulgaria proved to be the better team. In the beginning of this tournament we suffered a lot but we improved from one match to another.”
Two weeks before the men’s U20 national teams will battle for medals in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Estonia and Finland are in the spot light for the prominent CEV event at Tartu’s A. Le Coq Sports Hall that hosts Pool I and Tampere’s Exhibition and Sports Centre featuring Pool II. A total of 38 matches are played during the tournament, running from August 16-24, 2014.
The Preliminary Phase of the 2014 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women was split into two pools of six teams with the top two from each pool advancing to the semifinals and the third and fourth ranked teams making it to the classification matches 5-8.
All matches to be played in Tartu are being streamed live and for free at LAOLA1.tv.
Picture: The young Greek talents celebrate their well-deserved but unexpected spot for Saturday’s semifinals at 2014 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women.
Click here for more info on the Final Round of the 2014 CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship – Women.