12/07/2014 20:38
Turkey completes Pool play with straight victory, looks forward to final matches
2014 CEV Volleyball European League - Women
Novo Mesto, Slovenia, July 12, 2014. Though they had already claimed their ticket to the finals of the 2014 CEV Volleyball European League – Women going into the last weekend of Pool play, Turkey showed no mercy for the rookies from Slovenia and imposed once more their supremacy following Friday’s 3:1 victory with a 3:0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24) that confirmed their undisputed leadership in Pool A. Turkey finished their campaign with 27 points while Slovenia – despite their strong start in the competition – had to be content with fourth place on 14 points. Turkey will play Germany in the finals with the home match scheduled for next Wednesday, July 16, in Bursa before the re-make follows on Saturday, July 19, in the city of Rüsselsheim.
Click here for more info including detailed stats of the match
Turkey imposed their rule right from the start of the first set where they claimed an 8:5 lead; still Slovenia fought their way back to flip the charts around and went to the front at 11:9. As Turkey got back on track, Slovenia’s head coach Bruno Najdic stopped the game by the score of 11:13 and he got the reaction he was hoping for as Slovenia tied at 14 all. Turkey scored the two next points to call for the second technical time-out and slowly but surely widened their lead (23:18); Slovenia scored three in a row to put on an exciting final rush of the set, but Turkey responded with another two consecutive points to cash the first set (25-21) after a time-out asked by their mentor Ferhat Akbas.
Slovenia started well in the second set (5:3) and kept their two-point lead also at the first technical time-out. They continued to set the pace of the game also later on (12:9) and their lead stood at three points also at the second mandatory stop. Turkey eventually drew level at 18 all and scored the next point to claim the lead for the first time since the start of the set. At this stage it was Bruno Najdic to stop the game but it was with no effect, since Turkey recorded three straight points to make it 21:18 and pave the way for the final 25-19.
The third set followed a similar plot with Slovenia catching a good start (6:3) and keeping control of the game through the first technical time-out (8:5). Slovenia continued to lead the way until Turkey evened the score at 12 all. The guests went to the front at 13:12 and held on to their lead (16:15). However, after the break, Slovenia stormed back to make it 18:16 in their favour before Turkey responded with another 3:0 run to flip the tables around (19:18). Slovenia had two set balls at 24:22 but not could capitalize on this opportunity; Turkey’s head coach Ferhat Akbas took a break, his team got back on track and with four unanswered points brought the match to an end (26-24) for their second victory of the weekend.
Sara Hutinski top scored for Slovenia with 15 points, as Meliha Ismailoglu recorded 13 for Turkey to top the charts for the winning side.
“Unfortunately we did not make it through,” said Slovenia’s head coach Bruno Najdic after the match. “It was evident that at a certain moment we suffered a lack of concentration. We did not have enough energy. This was our last match in the European League and I think we can be satisfied with our results and with what we have shown in this competition.”
“I saw some good things today, whereas others were bad,” commented Turkey’s head coach Ferhat Akbas. “I would like to thank my team: we have made the finals scoring nine victories in the prelims. We are very happy and we will be doing our best to win the title.”
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