16/05/2015 20:55
Turkey rout France to set sight on World Championship ticket, Serbia back on track
2015 FIVB U20 Women Volleyball World Championship - European Qualification
Ruma, Serbia, May 16, 2015. Turkey cruised to their second consecutive victory at the second-round qualifier for this year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s U20 World Championship which is being held in the Serbian city of Ruma. The bronze medallists from last year’s European Championship recorded a 3:0 win (25-19, 25-23, 25-15) over France to further cement their credentials to finish atop the charts in Pool G and claim the highly coveted ticket to Puerto Rico. Turkey needed only three sets to rout France who on Friday night had caused a sensation by claiming a tie-break victory over hosts and pre-favourite Serbia. The home heroines got back on track on Saturday evening following their 3:0 win (25-22, 25-16, 25-19) over the Czech Republic, a result which keep them in contention for first place in the pool and for a ticket to this year’s World Championship.
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Turkey vs. France 3:0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-15)
In the first match of the second day of the tournament being held in Ruma, Turkey swept France aside 3:0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-15) in front of 80 spectators. Juliette Fidon of France topped the scorers’ chart with 11 points, while Zehra Günes recorded nine for the winning side.
Both teams started the match cautiously, but then Turkey stepped up the pace, especially with their firm blocking, and managed to create a small gap. After 21:14, it was obvious that the French side would have to seek their opportunities in the second set.
There was a fierce battle for every point in the second set. The lead switched often, but then again Turkey was slightly better in the decisive stage. The Turkish girls went up by two points at 18:16, but France equalised at 21:21. Once again, Turkey went up by two points and that proved to be enough for edging their rivals 25-23.
Right from the start of the third set Turkey took control of the operations. At the second technical time-out it was 16:6 for the Turkish side, and it was clear that France could never recover. In the end the match finished with a well deserved victory in straight sets for Turkey.
Arelya Karasoy, team captain of Turkey, said: “We organised ourselves really well in this match. We got to know our rival very well, and we had a clear goal in front of us. We should play every match like this.”
Nina Stojiljkovic, France’s setter, said: “We were not so tired, although we had a match in five sets last night. We made too many errors, and we lacked aggressiveness.”
Czech Republic vs. Serbia 0:3 (22-25, 16-25, 19-25)
In the second match of the second day Serbia edged the Czech Republic 3:0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-19) in front of 300 spectators. Michaela Mlejnkova of the Czech Republic topped the scorers' chart with 15 points, while Sara Vucicevic scored nine for the hosts in their winning effort.
Serbia started the match better and went to the first technical time-out leading by 8:5. The hosts continued in the same way and moved the score to 15:9 but suddenly the Czech girls tied scoring six points in a row. The teams were close all the way until the end of the set. Serbia had more luck in the decisive moments and took the first set with an ace by Marija Vujnovic.
It was more or less the same story in the second set. Serbia took an early lead (8:4, 10:5), but the Czechs managed to narrow the gap (10:8). However, the home side kept their focus this time and didn’t let their rivals sneak back into the match. Serbia quickly went up 17:9 and calmly wrapped up the set (25-16) for 2:0 overall.
In the beginning of the third set it was an even battle until 5:5, when the Czechs took over the control and went to the first technical time-out leading 8:6. The lead got even bigger (12:8), but then Marija Vujnovic stepped behind the service line and Serbia turned the score around in their favour with five consecutive points for 13:12. After that Serbia slowly but surely took control of the match augmenting the lead by the minute. In the end, the match finished with a well deserved straight-set victory for the home favourites.
Ondrej Marek, coach of the Czech Republic, said: “Serbia was the better team today in all aspects of the game and they deserved to win.”
Serbia’s mentor Marijana Boricic commented: “I still think that we are far away from our actual possibilities. We tried different line-ups, and we are experimenting a little bit. Tomorrow, Turkey is the favourite but we will try our best. It will be interesting to see how this team will react against a powerful Turkish squad.”
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