Eindhoven, Netherlands, September 26, 2015. As the 2015 EuroVolley lived its first moments of emotion in the venue of Eindhoven, the teams participating in Pool D clashed for their first victory in the much anticipated 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women. The team of Serbia produced a sensational debut after beating 2013 silver medallists Germany in three sets 3:0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19), thus stating its intention to dominate the pool. In the opening clash of the day, the Czech Republic proved too strong for a hopeful Romanian side cruising to a 3:0 win as well (25-13, 25-18, 25-15).
Czech Republic vs Romania 3:0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-15)
The Czech team dominated in the first match in Group D to beat Romania in three sets. From the start of the clash, Carlo Parisi's ladies controlled the encounter celebrated in the Indoor Sportcentrum Eindhoven against Romania.
The problems with Romania’s distribution and a glowing performance by Czech star Aneta Havlickova, who consistently scored with powerful back court attacks, represented the 8:4, 16:11 and 21:17 to finally win the opening set 25-13.
Guillermo Gallardo’s team managed to keep the score close in the second set up until the first technical time out (7:8), after which the Czech Republic pushed forward to a 13:10 lead. Following the second technical time out (16:14), it was once again the Czech players who managed to produce the better attack also impulsed in their superior defence. Captain Helena Havelkova particularly impressed with excellent offensive stats of twelve direct points and lead her team to a win in the second set (25-18).
The third period was also determined by the Czechs' efficiency. After the first technical time out (8:7), Carlo Parisi’s team scored with multiple impressive blocks and played their way to a 16:9 lead. Additionally, Helena Havelkova could not be stopped by Romania’s blocking, thus ending the set 25-15 for the Czech squad.
“We are here to learn,” declared the coach of Romania Guillermo Gallardo, while the mentor of the Czech Republic Carlo Parisi stated: “I am very happy. For us, this was the most important game in the group.”
Serbia vs Germany 3:0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19)
The second game in Eindhoven showed Serbia, back from their outstanding performance at the FIVB World Cup, cement their status as red-hot favourites for the European title after a convinving victory in three sets over 2013 silver medallists Germany.
The World Cup runners-up started the match powerfully and efficiently. Two back court attacks and a block against Germany’s Maren Brinker translated into an early 3:0 lead. Going into the technical time-out ahead at 8:5, Zoran Terzic’s team extended their lead to 10:5. However, Germany battled their way back into the game with strong serves and a good defence, reducing the gap to 11:12. Lead by outside-spiker Brankica Mihajlovic, Serbia scored over and over with their outside hitters, powered on to another four points, and finally closed the set with a definitive 25-18 win in the period.
The Serbian ladies started the second set where they had left off in the first part of the clash. With aggressive attacking and blocking, the Serbians were particularly dominant over Germany at the net. However, as in the first set, Luciano Pedullà’s team found a way to get back in the game, not only shortening their gap to 8:9 but ultimately taking the lead at 12:11. What followed was an intense head-to-head battle, in which the left-handed Serbian opposite Tijana Boškovic triumphed with high and hard attacks. The set ended with a 25-22 win for the Serbian squad.
In the third period, the Serbian team once again took a quick lead, making the score 4:2 early in the set. However, the Germans countered back with a 6:1 break to enter the technical timeout up by 8:5. Serbia retaliated and caused problems for the German passers with their strong serves, which allowed the Serbians to block frequently. With scores of 18:12 and 20:15, the Serbian ladies finally ended the set with 25-19, winning the match without giving up a set.
“It was easier than expected. Germany is a good team and is always
dangerous. We may not have played our best, but nevertheless we showed a
good level for the first game of the championship,” commented Serbia’s
setter Maja Ognjenovic.
“Today’s game definitely made us aim for more. It took us a long time to
get into the game, but we improved set by set,” stated Germany’s team
captain Margareta Kozuch. The coach of the German team Luciano Pedullà
added: “We did not play badly, but we did not attack powerfully and our
reception was sadly not perfect. In addition to that, Tijana Boškovic
played very well today.”
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