Reykjavik, Iceland, June 7, 2014. The two northern European island teams celebrated victories over their mainland opponents on day one in Small Countries Division qualification Pool B of the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women. In the first match on Friday, the Faroe Islands took on the team of Luxembourg and won by 3:1 (25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14). Then the home team of Iceland shut out Liechtenstein by 3:0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-15).
Faroe Islands vs. Luxembourg 3:1 (25-21, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14)
The two teams have had some hard-fought matches through the years and everybody was expecting an even match. It turned out the islanders had other ideas. After winning the first two sets in a relatively secure manner, although still with some hard-fought duels, the girls from the Grand Duchy fought back to win the third set by 25-16. It seems to have taken a toll on their energy as they never stood any chance in the fourth set, leaving the Faroese team to win the match by 3:1.
The Luxembourgish captain Isabelle Fricsh had an outstanding match scoring 18 points for her team as well as being good in reception and defense, but her team was unable to capitalize on that. The Faroese team played a solid game with Sofia Purkhus and Trine Guttesen leading the way, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Iceland vs. Liechtenstein 3:0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-15)
After the poor run in recent years the Icelandic girls were determined to show the home crowd their best sides. The home team never came under any real threat from Liechtenstein as it took the game home to safety in three sets. The team from Liechtenstein showed resilience and battled hard, but was unable to hold back the tall Icelandic offense. Solid game in all aspects, especially in blocking, was the foundation for the first victory of the home team in almost two years, which showed that, under the guidance of the Italian head coach Daniele Capriotti, the team is gradually improving.
Jona Gudlaug Vigfusdottir was the top scorer of the match with 15 points for Iceland. Teammate Hjordis Eiriksdottir added another 11. Barbara Marxer was Liechtenstein’s best scorer with 9 points.
Click here for more details, including match statistics and photos.