Baku, Azerbaijan, June 21, 2015. As the inaugural European Games approaches to finish the first stage of the competition, the teams competing in Pool B strive to find the path to achieve glory in the thrilling tournament being held in Baku. Emotions dominated the clashes of the last day of the preliminary round in Pool B, three matches that started with the convincing victory for the Netherlands over Bulgaria 3:0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-19). Germany followed suit and also beat Croatia in three sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-19). All good things come in three, also 3:0 wins. In the last match in Pool B Serbia downed Russia 3:0 (30-28, 25-14, 25-16) to top the final charts of their group.
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The Netherlands vs Bulgaria 3:0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-19)
The Netherlands proved too strong for Bulgaria in the opening match of the day in Pool B, in a clash dominated from beginning to end by the Dutch ladies. The Bulgarian side attempted to achieve their second victory in the competition and tried to control their rivals through Elitsa Vasileva’s offensive power. However, the ladies directed by Dragan Nesic met an inspired Dutch side that offered no glimpse of options for the Bulgarian victory.
The remarkable spikes signed by a foolproof Celeste Plak put the Netherlands on route to victory, and the attacks by the 1.90-metres-tall outside spiker, together with their competence in reception and defence, allowed the Oranjes to close the first two sets with convincing 25-20 and 25-18, in a demonstration of efficient volleyball.
With 2:0 in the scoreboard, Bulgaria craved for a surprise and tried to put an end to their rivals’ efficiency. Using Elitsa Vasileva as main argument, the two-times CEV European League silver medallists braced for a comeback, and even forced a late equality in the scoreboard, but the Dutch squad continued its exhibition of mistakes-free Volleyball. The Bulgarian attempts crashed against the Oranje’s efficient blocking and defensive system, and a sensational spike by Celeste Plak helped the Netherlands put the 25-19 in the scoreboard that sealed final 3:0. The Dutch squad signed this way their fourth victory in the tournament and challenge the top of Pool B.
”I am very happy with the win. The match that was played before ours was very long, but we kept warm and focused while we waited to get started. We played relaxed today and we simply overwhelmed Bulgaria with our enthusiasm. We started making some mistakes in the second and third set, which was not necessary and let Bulgaria play their game. But we won 3:0 and I am happy with that. We will give all we have, and then we must see what the result will be in the end,” said Celeste Plak, top scorer in today’s match for the Netherlands with 16 points.
“It is the third match that we didn’t play well. For a team like us, we should have reacted immediately after the game we lost against Serbia. We didn’t react against Croatia and we didn’t show a reaction today either. That’s our biggest problem. It is not Volleyball, it is the way you enter the match,” said the Bulgarian captain, Elitsa Vasileva.
Croatia vs Gemany 0:3 (21-25, 22-25, 19-25)
Germany showed a greater offensive dominance to beat Croatia 3:0 in the second match of the day in Pool B, thus achieving their third victory in the competition. The German side prevented the Croatian ladies from claiming their coveted second triumph by imposing their attacking efficiency and presenting fewer mistakes than their opponents.
Although Croatia entrusted their outcome in the match to the combined efforts of Senna Usic Jogunica and Samanta Fabris - two of the top scorers of the competition - Germany were able to control the clash and to establish a fierce dominance in the three sets.
The periods followed a similar pattern. The Croatian side presented alternatives at the onset of each period, through the energetic display of their main offensive aces. However, after the second technical time outs of each period, the advantages for the German squad became more and more evident, and Germany succeeded at imposing their offensive and serving command, so to make the differences impossible to reduce for Croatia.
Maren Brinker acted as the main spearhead of the German attacking authority, and with block and efforts in the second line as valuable complements, Luciano Pedullà’s ladies did not offer any glimpse of hesítation, thus paving the way to their victories in each period with a demonstration of collective efficiency. A missed spike by Croatia represented the final 25-19 in the third set and the 3:0 victory for Germany.
“We played very well, especially with the serve, and I am very happy also because we tried to use the other opposite, so today we proved that all the players can go in the field with good motivation and attitude. In the quarter-finals everything is different. We don’t know our rivals yet, perhaps we meet one of the strongest teams of the other pool, but I think that when you play a match in which you can be in or out [of the tournament], every opponent is difficult,” said the coach of Germany Luciano Pedullà.
“I am tired. We have played many games here in Baku. Personally, I am very happy as this is my first tournament with the national team. The whole team is very young and we did our best. We have all given everything we had, so we are not disappointed. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. We fought with our hearts, so we are happy. With this experience we will all develop into better players,” says Nikolina Bozicevic, libero of Croatia.
Russia vs Serbia 0:3 (28-30, 14-25, 16-25)
Serbia’s service was night and day in the last pool match in the women’s tournament against Russia. It started like a nightmare for Serbia, but ended up haunting Russia in their dreams.
Robbie Williams top pop tune “Let Me Entertain You” floated from the speakers in the Crystal Hall, and on the court the floating services kept changing from the Russian to the Serbian side. And the service played a big role in the first set, as Serbia made as many as six service errors giving Russia a helping hand. Serbia showed some iron will and equalised the score at 24:24. And then, in a dramatic closure of the set, Serbia survived to four Russian set points; they also misused one themselves, before some sublime serving by 22-year old Jovana Stevanovic gave Serbia the win 30-28 with two aces in a row.
Russia was determined to bring themselves back in the game, and at the first technical time-out, coach Vadim Pankov’s team did not exchange a single word with each other and just stood waiting impatiently to get back on the court and increase their 8:6 lead. But maybe they would like to reconsider that disposition as Serbia scored the following three points shifting momentum in the set storming to a 25-14 win.
Russia’s Daria Isaeva was the fifth best scoring player before tonight’s match with 72 points in the tournament. But Serbia had found the answer to the strong opposite’s skillful spikes and kept her at seven points in this last pool match of the women’s tournament. Serbia was serving better and better and only made two service errors since the first set. Together with 10 Serbian aces, Russia was unable to keep the pace of their opponents and lost the third set 16-25.
With the win tonight Serbia win Pool B with four wins and 12 points and in the quarter-finals will play the fourth placed team from Pool A, i.e. Belgium.