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The Netherlands vs Germany 2:3 (28-26, 22-25, 22-25, 25-20, 11-15)

The opening match of the women’s 2016 European Olympic Qualification was a clash between the Netherlands, who are chasing their first Olympic ticket since 1996, and Germany, who last competed in the Olympic Games at Athens 2004.  

The first set was a clear demonstration of how close this Olympic Qualification looks set to be. Both teams traded points early on and were even at 9-9. Dutch setter Laura Dijkema helped her team find gaps in the German defence and built up a healthy lead that gave them four set points at 24-20. Germany’s Christiane Fürst served like a machine, while Heike Beier and Anja Brandt welded their arms together and blocked well as the Germans fought back to lead 25-24. The sides were level at 26-26, but the Netherlands hit two as Yvon Belien blocked to take the set 28-26.

With the spectators in Baskent Hall still needing to catch their breath after the opening set, Germany stormed ahead in the second taking a 14-4 lead in double quick time. Dutch mentor Giovanni Guidetti put Celeste Plak on the court to put more pressure on Germany from the outside spiker position, but were behind 16-8 at the second technical timeout. In periods, the Netherlands played without a natural setter to maximise the pressure, and it paid off as they reduced the deficit. However, the Dutch were unable to complete the comeback and Germany won the second set 25-22 to level the match.

In the third set, the two teams were hard to separate and both took the lead at different times. Germany’s tallest player, 195cm Anja Brandt, put the Netherlands under pressure with some great serves and having trailed 9-8 were later 13-9 ahead. Both teams refused to let the third set go and were again inseparable at 19-all, before Germany edged ahead and gained three set points at 24-21 before closing the set two points later, 25-22.

The importance of a good start at the European Olympic Qualifier was again demonstrated in the fourth set where the Netherlands and Germany fought intensely for each point and were even at 14-all. As the Netherlands grabbed a 19-16 lead, Germany coach Felix Koslowski called a timeout to get his troops organised. It did not help much and they went further behind at 22-18. When Anne Buijs spiked the last point to take the set 25-20, a tiebreak in the first match was confirmed.

The Netherlands’ captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues killed well to give the first points to the Dutch and she also won the second, this time with a block. Anja Brandt and Heike Beier blocked well and Germany led 8-7 as the teams swapped ends. The German lead increased, and eventually captain and match top scorer Margareta Anna Kozuch sealed the win with her 25th point as Germany took the final set 15-11.




Germany captain Margareta Anna Kozuch:  “There were a lot of ups and downs today. Both teams played well and I am really happy that we won and got the result we were hoping for, as the Netherlands are a really strong team. We had a good balance on the team. When I was down, the rest of the team were on top, so we managed to keep a good balance throughout the match.”  

“There is still a long road ahead toward Olympic qualification. Now we need to cool down both mentally and physically after such an intense and long match. Every match will be tough and you need to be on top in every one to qualify for the Olympics.”

The Netherlands captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues: “We obviously did not play our best game of volleyball. I thought we had a good chance of winning the match when we turned things around in the fourth set, but unfortunately not. Our attack was simply not on our level, and we made too many mistakes. At the same time, Germany are a solid team.”  

“We lost the battle, but we have not lost the war. Now we all have to go back and have a look in the mirror to see what we can do better. We start over tomorrow.

Croatia vs Turkey 0:3 (18-25, 22-25, 17-25)

Though temperatures fell well below zero in Ankara, the ambiance was quite ‘hot’ at Baskent Volleyball Hall when the home team of Turkey entered the court to play their first match in the tournament against Croatia.

Both teams have appeared in the Olympics only once; Croatia did so back in 2000, and Turkey at the last Olympics in 2012. The Turks had qualified for the London Olympics after winning the European Olympic Qualification which was also held in Ankara four years ago and seemed determined to repeat that success today.

Turkey started the match in the best way, determined not to disappoint the many spectators who had shown up to see their home heroines in action. With great help from the loud and cheerful spectators, Turkey converted an 8:6 lead at the first technical time-out to a more comfortable 16:10 at the second. From here on it was only a matter of time before Turkey secured the set win, 25-18 after another winning spike by Neriman Özsoy.

Turkey’s setter Naz Aydemir Akyol continued to direct her teammates to favourable scoring positions in the second set. Croatia kept Turkey on a short leash, but often had to see their attacks blocked by Gözde Kirdar and Kübra Akman who just kept being in the way of a Croatian point. Turkey was leading 16:14 at the second technical timeout, but the set was all even at 20 all. Croatia did not seize their chance, and Turkey eventually claimed the set 25-22.

Baskent Hall almost reached its boiling point as Turkey kept blocking and spiking their way towards a win in the third set. The Turkish team of head coach Ferhat Akbas did not give Croatia any chance to extend this last match of the day in Ankara to a tie-break as the previous two in the European Olympic Qualification. Turkey took the lead and never looked back, blasting the set home 25-17 with Eda Erdem Dündar’s fifth blocking point of the match.