Antwerp, Belgium, September 26, 2015. The city of Antwerp is living days of pure Volleyball frenzy, as the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women started on Saturday. It was the most anticipated moment for the Belgian fans, as co-hosts Yellow Tigers debuted in the tournament on home ground with a convincing victory over Hungary 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-18). In the match that finished the first day of the 2015 women's EuroVolley, Turkey produced a remarkable debut in the event by beating Azerbaijan 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-13).
Hungary vs Belgium 0-3 (15-25, 8-25, 18- 25)
An effective and motivated Belgian team made its first steps in the 2015 EuroVolley in a sold out Lotto Arena in Antwerpen signing a three-setter victory over Hungary.
Emotional moments were lived before the start of the clash as one minute of silence was kept to honour the memory of Herman De Brandt, brother of the coach of Hungary, Belgian-born Jan De Brandt.
The Belgian team soon took the lead in the first set through Lise Van Hecke’s attacks and Laura Heyrman’s blocks (9:4). However, Hungary fought back thanks to Agnes Pallag and Edina Dobi’s contribution reducing their gap to three points (8:11). Van Hecke and Heyrman were unstoppable for the local side (18:11) and Belgium trailed to convincingly close the period with a block by Laura Heyrman (25-15).
In the second set, Frauke Dirickx’s serves surprised the Hungarian defence as the setter scored eight points in a row to put a solid 8:2 in the scoreboard. The visiting team made errors in its performance, which allowed the conclusive victory in a period dominated from beginning to end by the Yellow Tigers (25-8).
As the tie appeared in the onset of the third set, through Renata Sandor’s contribution on the Hungarian side, some unforced errors by the Belgians moved the score to 10:10. With serves by Els Vandesteene and a good Belgian block, the home players dominated again the situation getting a margin of five points at the second technical time-out (16:11). Lise Van Hecke and Freya Aelbrecht in attack took the lead in the period and delivered the final 25-18 in the third set that represented the first Belgian win of the tournament.
“We started the match very concentrated. A victory in the first game is always important. We managed perform for the whole match at the same level,” said Belgian player Els Vandesteene. “If we can keep this level, it can be a great tournament for us. We also played tactically well and were able to eliminate their strong points.”
“We started a bit nervous in the first set, but in a good way. We played tactically as planned, especially in the second set when everything was going perfect for us. Hopefully we can play at the same level against Azerbaijan and you never know what it will be against Turkey, but a few weeks ago they were much better than our team,” stated middle blocker Freya Aelbrecht.
“We made too many mistakes, and we didn’t follow the tactics we had agreed upon,” said Hungary's Edina Dobi. “Sure, we can play better than we did today. The European Championship is something new for us and it seems to be also something else. We will we happy with one set, perhaps with one game. We’ll see.”
Turkey vs Azerbaijan 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-13)
The second match of the day was determined by the domination of Turkey in the key moments of the clash. While Azerbaijan showed their strength in the first two sets, the Turkish side managed to maintain the efficiency throughout the clash.
A balanced first set with a little gap for both teams got the match started. Azerbaijan with Katerina Zhidkova and Polina Rahimova as leaders, and then Turkey with Gözde Kirdar and Kübra Akman as main arguments exchanged back and forth the control of the period. A strong block by the Azeri team brought the score to 18:18. It became a thriller from that moment on, but two blocks on Rahimova gave Turkey the first set 25-21.
The second period also started balanced (7:7), but the improvement of the Azerbaijani block and the attacks by Rahimova forced the Turkish coach to take a time out at 9:13. At 15:15 the suspense went even further. Kübra Akman and the inevitable Polina Rahimova kept the score tight up to 22:22. The Turkish ladies saved two set balls with 22:24 in the scoreboard, but at the end demonstrated resilience by closing the period 28-26.
In the third set a quick gap from the Turkish ladies turned the tables in favour of Ferhat Akbas’ team. A good blocking system and the increasing individual mistakes by the Azeris made sure Turkey would keep control over the game (13:6 and 16:7) so to put the final and convincing 25-13 in the set to secure a well-deserved 3:0 victory.
“We played two sets at a high level, there was equality during the whole period, and we got two set points in the second set. But why we lost, I don’t know. Volleyball is a team sport and perhaps in general we made too many mistakes. Tomorrow we hope to play better against Belgium,” declared Azerbaijan’s star Polina Rahimova.
“We played a very good second set; unfortunately we made a lot of mistakes in the end. We know the Belgian team and its strengths, so we will have to fight for each point. We’ll prepare as good as possible,” stated the Azerbaijani captain Oksana Kurt.
“We made too many mistakes in the first two sets and that gave Azerbaijan the possibility to stay close in the scoreboard. In the third set, we started excellent and everybody saw the result. Yes, we stay here as the favourites in our pool,” stated Turkish setter Naz Aydemir Akyol.
“I was expecting a difficult game and if you saw the second set, you know I was right. A first day in a tournament is always difficult. So, of course, I’m happy that we didn’t lose a set,” commented the coach of Turkey Ferhat Akbas who went on to add: “I have a lot of respect for the Hungarian team. Don’t forget that they just won the 2015 CEV Volleyball European League. In a championship like this, there are no weak teams. When you play well, you can win against any team. But when you don’t, you can lose against each of them.”
For more information on the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women visit eurovolley2015.eu or click here. In social media, please use the competition’s official hashtag #EuroVolleyW.