Serbia vs Germany 3:0 (25-18; 25-19; 25-23)

The saga of clashes for the head of Pool I lived its first chapter in the opening match of day 3 in Samokov, in an encounter between two teams in search of perpetuating the winning streak achieved in the previous day. The contest was nonetheless determined by the Serbian girls’ impressive level of performance, which enabled them to dominate the match. The German girls tried to counteract the lack of errors and the efficiency in attack from the other side of the net, but their Serbian opponents showed an unyielding strength throughout the three periods, especially through Katarina Lazovic's actions. Both teams excelled in defence, but ultimately it was the number of inaccuracies from the German side what tipped the balance towards Serbia. In the third set, Germany was close to bring uncertainty to the game, but a 4-0 run for Jovo Cakovic's pupils when the score was 20-24 gave the Serbian girls the set and put the final 3:0 in the scoreboard.



“We expected the victory, and we are happy because we got the three points. Now we need to prepare for the match against Italy. I expect a good game, and I think that it will be the best match in this pool,” stated Jovo Cakovic, coach of Serbia. Joy was reflected in the words of Serbian captain, Katarina Lazovic, one of the stars of the match. “I am really happy. I want to congratulate my teammates because we now have three victories in three matches. We did not allow our rivals to perform well, and we need to prepare for Italy,” said the young player. 

“Today we just made too many mistakes in serve, attack, and digging. That was our main problem and the reason for our defeat”, commented Jens Tietboehl, coach of Germany. 

Italy vs Russia 2:3 (25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 10-15)

After two days of Italian domination in Pool I, Russia caused a stir in Samokov by beating the group leaders by 2:3. A foolproof Italian side had controlled the pool with two 3:0 victories in the previous days, but Marco Mencarelli’s pupils met an inspired Russian side that earned the badge of favourites in a thrilling match. Italy used Vittoria Alice Piani’s spikes to lead in the first period, but the Russian girls showed their fighting spirit when they were able to recover from this initial setback and confirmed their condition of candidates to rule the pool in an exceptional second period. This partial defeat did not affect Italy’s level of performance and the defending silver medallists regained the lead of the game through Paola Ogechi Egonu’s contribution. Nonetheless, Russia continued producing a sensational display over the court, as their blocks and Italian difficulties in reception contributed to increase anxiety in Marco Mencarelli’s pupils. The differences were at a minimum in the disputed tie-break, but the Russian squad, guided by Angelina Lazarenko’s attacks proved stronger. In an electrifying end of the match, the girls trained by Svetlana Safronova closed it out in a result that compresses the standings of the pool. 

“We were not concentrated enough during the whole match. We had ups and downs and the truth is that we have failed to win,” declared Italian coach, Marco Mencarelli, who added: “We had problems with our reception and we have to work on this for the future”. 

The sentiment was opposite in Russia’s side, as coach Svetlana Safronova declared: “I am very pleased with the victory today, and I am actually sorry that we don’t get to play tomorrow again! We showed our character, but now it is important to clear our minds after the game against Italy and think about what comes next.”

“I have no words to describe what we are feeling now”, commented Daria Ryseva, Russian captain.“There were moments in which we were nervous, but we showed a great stability. The other reasons for our success came from the coach,” she added. 

Slovenia and Greece embarked on a quest to win the first match and their first sets in the competition in the closing clash of the third day of the tournament in Samokov. Both teams had experienced 3:0 defeats against Italy and Germany, and Serbia and Italy, respectively, so the two sides dreamed of inaugurating their lists of victories in the championship. The Hellenic squad showed a greater inspiration in the game and from the very beginning of the encounter, the Greek girls engaged in a focused journey to victory. Slovenia tried to stop the negativity in its playing and improved its level of performance in the second set, but Greece was on a roll and closed the following periods in a courageous demonstration. In the last set, two mistakes in reception by the Slovenian team with 21-21 in the scoreboard eased the lead for Greece (23-21), and although Slovenia got back in the game (23-23), Greece finished the period with an ace, so to achieve the final 3:0. Athanasia Fakopoulidou's spikes in Greek side contributed to a meaningful triumph for Kyriakos Kamperidis' girls. 

“This game was like a final for us. After this victory, we still have chances to continue in the next phase. Our next match will be another final and the team who wins, will go to Plovdiv for the next round”, declared Greek assistant coach, Ionnis Andreadis, while captain Athanasia Fakopoulidou said: “We did not play as well as we can but we won, that’s the important thing for us. Our next match is against Germany and if we win, we could go to Plovdiv, and that's what we want.”

“We prepared well for this match but it was just too difficult. We did not receive correctly and we did not play as we can. It was hard for the girls to carry out our instructions and besides, we had some problems in defence,” analysed Slovenian assistant coach Simon Krakar.