Baku, Azerbaijan, June 15, 2015. After two thrilling opening days, the European Games continue to shine as women take the stage of the Volleyball competition. The heartfelt desires of victory are constantly present in the matches that feature the excitement and spectacularity of the best Volleyball. Bulgaria initiated the matches in Pool B with a convincing triumph in three sets over Russia, followed by a 1:3 victory by The Netherlands over Croatia.
Serbia on top of Pool B after dramatic closure against Germany.
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Bulgaria vs Russia 3:0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-22)
Bulgaria achieved a convincing victory over Russia in the opening match of the second day of women’s competition. After their bitter debut in the tournament, both squads focused on leaving their respective defeats against Germany and The Netherlands behind, but only Bulgaria was able to savour the joy of experiencing the first triumph in the competition after beating Russia in three convincing sets.
The Bulgarian women presented an outstanding demonstration of efficiency that took Russia by surprise in the initial set. From the very first points of the match, the intensity of the Bulgarian system was so extraordinary that the 2012 CEV European League silver medallists rolled past their rivals in a first period owned from beginning to end by Dragan Nesic’s girls (25-16).
Under these circumstances, the only wish on the Russian side was to shake off their faltering start of the match, and Vadim Pankov’s girls seemed to take the road towards this goal with a promising initiation of the second period. However, as the set progressed, an inspired Bulgarian squad undermined their rivals’ desires of recovery. Led by captain Elitsa Vasileva’s outstanding contribution, Bulgaria managed to take control of the set just in the final moments of the period. The Bulgarian players maintained their strength in attack and block and took the set 25-22.
With 2:0 in the scoreboard, the Russian presence in the court faded, while Bulgaria continued to impose its efficiency. The Bulgarian outstanding performance, represented in the sensational spikes by Elitsa Vasileva, enabled Dragan Nesic’s women to convincingly dominate the period. The 25-year-old player drove her team to victory and signed a powerful attack that finished the set 25-22 and the match 3:0.
”It feels really good to have our first win here at the European Games. I hope it is just the beginning of a long and successful tournament for us. We lost our first match against Germany even though we played very good. Today we showed what we are capable of and it was all due to our self-confidence,” said Bulgarian captain Elitsa Vasileva.
“The Bulgarian team was very good in defence and we had problems in blocking. that’s why we lost,” declared Russian captain Anna Matienko. “Now we are going to relax but after that, we need to analyse this match and study our next rival, “ she added.
Croatia vs The Netherlands 1:3 (23-25, 17-25, 25-17, 21-25)
The Netherlands confirmed their condition as one of the brightest forces in the tournament after signing its second victory in the competition. The Dutch squad beat Croatia 3:1 in a brilliant performance following its triumphant debut over Russia on Saturday.
On the other side of the net, and after its defeat against Serbia in the opening day, Croatia was aiming at the coveted first victory in the tournament. However, the Dutch team was able to work its way through the first period to earn the control of the game. A spike by Robin de Kruijf put the final 25-23 in the scoreboard in the disputed initial set.
After coming from behind in the previous period, The Netherlands were in a roll and confirmed their positive streak in a convincing demonstration of clockwork efficiency in the second set. Anne Buijs in offensive actions and Laura Dijkema in distribution led the Dutchs’ remarkable performance, so to place the oranje squad one step away of confirming its victory in the match (25-17).
Nonetheless, the Croatian players succeeded in altering the flow of the match until that third period by keeping their mistakes to a minimum and by using Senna Usic Jogunica’s attacks as a main ground for their performance. Croatia acquired the control of the set after the second technical time out and momentarily avoided the defeat by winning the period with a spike by Senna Usic Jogunica (25-17).
With 2:1 in the scoreboard, The Netherlands soon recovered the control of the match, with Anne Buijs and Robin de Kruijf stating their stellar role in the match. The Dutch girls took an early advantage in the fourth set and despite the Croatians’ efforts, the impeccable accuracy showed by the co-hosts of the next CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women ended paving the way to another victory for Giovanni Guidetti’s girls. A succesful attack by Lonneke Slöetjes closed the set 25-21 and the match 3:1.
“Again today we did not play our best. We still have a lot of work to do before we are in the required gear for a long and successful tournament. We struggled today because Croatia put a lot of pressure on us with their service. I am glad that we proved ourselves as a team, and with some good substitutions managed to win the match. This was indeed a team effort,” said Maret Balkestein-Grothues, captain of The Netherlands.
“I am satisfied with the match today; some of our players are making their debut in the national team in this competition and I am so proud of them because when you are young, it is not easy to play matches like this against strong teams as The Netherlands. We need to continue working; for us this event is for the future of Croatian Volleyball,” declared the captain of the Croatian team, Senna Usic Jogunica.
Germany vs Serbia 1:3 (24-26, 25-18, 15-25, 22-25)
The last match in Pool B was on the verge of going into tiebreak, but then Serbia made a stunning comeback and finds themselves on top of Pool B after the second round of matches.
One of Serbia’s tasks tonight was to try and find a way to stop Germany’s Maren Brinker, who scored 23 points in the Germans’ tiebreak thriller against Bulgaria in the opening match of the tournament. The task showed itself as difficult as predicted, as Brinker slammed 8 points in the floor in the first set. The Serbian players shared the point scoring more evenly between them. Though Serbia failed to take advantage of their first two set points, they kept calm and won the set 26-24.
In the second set the bombardment of Maren Brinker continued. The 28-year old outside spiker blasted holes in the Serbian block together with Margareta Anna Kozuch right from the beginning of the set, and Germany had a comfortable lead, 16-8 at the second technical timeout after a riveting rally. There was no way back in this set for Serbia who lost it 18-25.
The story of the third set was the same – but with Serbia on top. Brankica Mihajlovic and Milena Rasic almost took turn in spiking through the leaky German blocks. In front as big as 16-7 at the second technical timeout, Serbia never looked back, and it came as no surprise that Serbia closed the set 25-15 with a thunder spike.
What looked like a match certainly going into tiebreak in the fourth set with a solid German 16-10 lead suddenly turned around. With a very strong hearted effort and some immense blocking skills, Serbia clawed their way back in the set making the score all even at 20-20. The Crystal Hall was at its boiling mark when the hot hands of Bojana Zivkovic made it 22-21 to Serbia. That point also cracked Germany, and Serbia won 25-22.
“For us it is a very important victory because it is always very hard to play against Germany. In a big competition like this, every time you beat Germany, it is a big pleasure. I am also happy that we never felt down. We know that Germany is a team that never gives up, but we were able to keep our focus until the end,” says Serbian captain Jelena Nikolic.
“I am not happy. Not at all. Every time we play Serbia it is a tough fight for every point. I do not know why, but we have a tendency to make three mistakes every time we make a point. Then Serbia will make it difficult for you. They have some of the best middle blockers, not only in this tournament, but in the entire world. We need to serve better in the rest of the European Games, if we want to make it a long tournament for us,” says the coach of Germany Luciano Pedullà.