28/09/2015 22:35
Germany edge Czech ladies, Serbia maintain unbeaten path
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women
Eindhoven, Netherlands, September 28, 2015. The city of Eindhoven lived the third and last day as venue of thrilling matches of the spectacular 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women with clashes that decided the three teams to make it to the next rounds of competition. Germany defeated the Czech Republic in three sets (25-17, 25-23, 25-17) in the first encounter of the day thus securing the second place of the Pool. In another straight sets victory, Serbia confirmed their status of undisputed leaders in the pool and of title contenders as well following their powerful display against Romania (25-20, 25-14, 25-15).
Germany vs Czech Republic 3:0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-17)
The opening match in Eindhoven between Germany and the Czech Republic was to determine who would end in second position in pool D. The German side took the victory in straight sets and convincingly confirmed its privileged situation in the pool.
Assisted by the loud German crowd in the Indoor Sport Centre, Germany immediately created a gap of four points in the first set (5:1). At the first mandatory break, the margin was still of three points in favour of the German ladies. Captain Margareta Anna Kozuch continued scoring and the difference grew to seven points (16:9). The Czech spikes did not pass the net defence of the German side, and with Anja Brandt at the serving position, the squad directed by Luciano Pedulla’ cruised comfortably to close the set at 25-17.
Germany continued at a higher level in the second act (4:1), but this time the Czech Republic managed to come back to 5:4. With Lucie Smutná at the serve, the Czechs finally evened the score for the first time at 8:8. The tie persisted throughout the period and Carlo Parisi’s ladies kept up the battle to maintain the equality (22:22). Nonetheless, the improvement by the Czech side could not prevent the German ladies from cashing their second set at 25-23.
Escorted by the German “drum band” on the tribune, Germany managed to create a gap in the first phase of the third period (6:3). The 2013 silver medallists were in a flow and despite that the Czech side fought back to 14:10, Margareta Anna Kozuch’s performance crashed their hopes of a comeback (15:10). The German efficiency was established in the continuation of the set, and a kill block ended the period 25-17 and the match 3:0.
“We played a good match today,” stated the coach of Germany Luciano Pedulla`. “We had good service and good defence and we managed to be one step ahead every time. This was the best performance of our team in Eindhoven, which gives us confidence for the rest of the championship,” he added.
“I am very proud of my team. We talked a lot, gave each other confidence and stayed positive even when we had a lesser phase. I am very happy,” stated German captain Margareta Anna Kozuch.
“Germany put pressure on us from the start. My team seemed to have forgotten everything we talked about during the analysis of Germany last night. There was no confidence, no belief,” lamented the coach of the Czech team Carlo Paris, while captain Helena Havelkova declared: “Germany were really good. I hoped and thought that we would be able to compete more, but their pressure was too high today.”
Romania vs Serbia 0:3 (20-25, 14-25, 15-25)
The closing match of of Pool D of the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women in Eindhoven was determined by Serbia’s powerful demonstration, since the 2015 FIVB World Cup runners-up beat Romania in straight sets: 25-20, 25-14 and 25-15. With this convincing result, Serbia qualified directly for the quarterfinals and demonstrated a clear leadership in the pool.
Though the Serbian side was the favourite for the win in the match, it was underdog Romania that took an impressive lead in the opening set (8:0). However, when Serbia started scoring the next four points, the coach of the Romanian team Guillermo Gallardo had to call his team on the side (8:5). After reaching the tie several times, Serbia took the lead at 14:13. Romania did not give in and after another kill block, they diminished the margin to only one point (17:16). Ultimately, Serbia ended cashing its first set point (24:20) despite some good Romanian efforts.
The opening of the second act was completely on Serbian hands. The advantage of six points by the Serbians only anticipated the distance that the FIVB World Cup silver medallists would take (15:4). Romania collected some blocking points, but Serbia clearly demonstrated their higher level. Tijana Malesevic had the honour of closing the set with a spike for the final 25-14.
Despite the big loss in the second period, Romania had a promising start in the next act (4:1). Serbia levelled again at 5:5, taking over the lead at 7:6. Following an ace by Bianka Busa, the coach of Romania Guillermo Gallardo asked for a time out (18:11), but Serbia pushed through (21:13). A powerful spike by Jovana Stevanovic closed the set at 25-15 and the match 3:0.
“We think only one match ahead, so now we start focussing on the quarterfinal. One of our qualities is that we have 14 good players, they all deserve to play. I am lucky that I can change my team every time,” commented the coach of Serbia Zoran Terzic.
“We served well in the opening set, but we know that we are here mainly to get more experience playing against major opponents like Serbia. We had a very good qualification, losing only one set, but that was another story. We need to play more of these matches to improve ourselves,” declared the coach of Romania Guillermo Gallardo, while Romanian captain Adina Salaoru added: “We knew that we did not have a chance to continue in this European Championship after the pool round, so we tried to have fun and enjoy the games. Serbia served really well today, that made the biggest difference.”
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.
|