22/09/2017 21:36
Azerbaijan overcome pressure to rally to comprehensive victory over Hungary, Poland come from behind to beat Germany in rollercoaster of a game
2017 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women
Baku, Azerbaijan, September 22, 2017. The hosts from Azerbaijan had a little bit of a rusty start to their matchup with Hungary as they obviously felt the pressure resulting from the home debut but they eventually got rid of it – and they did so in style! After coming from behind in the opening set, they rallied to a comprehensive 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-14, 25-16) over Hungary to get proceedings underway in Pool A of the 2017 women’s EuroVolley. They provided something to cheer about not only to a raucous home crowd, but also to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who paid a visit to the National Gymnastics Arena on the opening day of the historic tournament co-hosted by Azerbaijan and Georgia. Later in the evening, Poland emerged victorious from a rollercoaster of a game where they eventually defeated Germany at the tiebreak (23-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 15-5).
Hungary vs. Azerbaijan 0-3 (23-25, 14-25, 16-25)
After a furious start by the home side, who were obviously extra motivated to please the 4,500+ crowd in attendance at the National Gymnastics Arena, Hungary rapidly found their rhythm to lead the way almost from the beginning to the end of the opening set. Azerbaijan’s reception looked way too shaky for the hosts to be able to develop their game and this resulted in a five-point advantage for the visitors at the second technical time-out. However, Azerbaijan suddenly woke up and stormed back to 18-19 – after finally getting rid of the pressure they inevitably felt while making their debut at a historic #EuroVolleyW on home soil. The hosts eventually levelled the score at 22-all, as the noise inside the hall was getting louder and louder. A crosscourt by Polina Rahimova flipped the charts around and Azerbaijan crowned their comeback with success as they cashed their second set ball (25-23).
After overcoming their initial troubles, Azerbaijan found their game and much to the delight of their State President, Mr Ilham Aliyev, who was closely watching the match from the stands, they put on a real show in the second set. Rahimova looked almost unstoppable and Hungary could not do much to stand the physical prowess of their opponents despite the loud cheers coming from a small group of Hungarian fans in attendance. Azerbaijan’s success in the second set was a pure formality – and it eventually turned into reality at 25-14 following another kill by Rahimova.
The early stages of the third set were far less one-sided with Azerbaijan leading by one point only at the first technical time-out. However, slowly but surely Azerbaijan opened a comfortable gap (17-12) and the home team’s show continued until Kseniya Poznyak sealed a 25-16 win passionately celebrated by a jubilant home crowd and by President Aliyev as well.
Quotes
Rita Bokorne Liliom, team captain of Hungary: “The first set was what we wanted to achieve, to have this kind of focus for the whole game, but at 16-11 we started to lose concentration and thinking that this may not be the right position for us. From that moment on, we wanted to come back, but they were always a step or two steps ahead of us. As for the next match against Poland, we are going to try our best; we will not put our heads down but keep playing.”
Alberto Salomoni, head coach of Hungary: “We started very well and made it very difficult for Azerbaijan. We had a good strategy and the girls did great in executing that strategy from the very start. Unfortunately, we lost that first set. If we had won it, this would have completely changed the game. After we lost the first set, Azerbaijan were calmer and with the weapons they have like Rahimova and Mammadova they put us in a difficult situation. I would not say we started to play bad – Azerbaijan started to play better. We are the underdog also in the next match and we will do just the same – make it difficult for the opponent and take the chance when we have such a chance.”
Kseniya Poznyak, player of Azerbaijan: “The first set was very difficult for us. We could not find our rhythm and made many mistakes. Towards the end of set, however, Shafagat Habibova had a good run from the service line and we eventually changed the course of the game. We are now celebrating but already thinking about our second match in the pool against Poland. We must play better than we did today and we will be trying to do so.”
Famil Aghayev, assistant coach of Azerbaijan: “Our start was a rusty one, because the players have been waiting for the entire summer for the European Championship to come. It was not a terrific game for us but we fought for every point. Now we are happy but we need to do better in the next matches.”
Poland vs. Germany 3-2 (23-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 15-5)
The last match on schedule for the opening day of the 2017 women’s EuroVolley in Baku featured two teams who have been undergoing a rejuvenation process of their roster and as a result did not set any too specific goals for this tournament. After many turnarounds, and a difficult start to the match, Germany emerged victorious at the end of a closely contested opening set (25-23).
However, Germany team captain Maren Fromm & Co. could not quite keep the same level of intensity and quality in the second set where Poland rallied to a massive 16-9 lead at the second technical time-out. The players in white and red shirts did not look back anymore and comfortably secured a 25-15 win to level the match.
This same trend continued in the early stages of the third set where Poland cruised to a 6-2 lead, before the Germans finally found their way back into the game. They significantly raised the level of their performance and this eventually resulted in a 25-18 win for the side coached by Felix Koslowski.
After so many ups and downs on both sides, the fourth set was a much closer affair – with Germany securing a small advantage at the second technical timeout (16-14). The final section of that set was truly dramatic and exciting with Poland coming back strong with the help of their star opposite Malwina Smarzek and some smart play orchestrated by their setter and team captain Joanna Wolosz. Despite her young age, as she is only 21, Smarzek rose to the occasion and a German mistake paved the way towards the second tiebreak of the day in Baku.
This somehow provided a supplementary boost of energy to the Poles who rallied to a 6-1 lead in the fifth and all-deciding set, and this was a blow Germany could not recover from. Poland widened their advantage to 12-4 and they were rewarded for their resilience as they eventually celebrated a 3-2 victory to start their #EuroVolleyW campaign on a high note.
Jacek Nawrocki, coach of Poland: “A win against Germany is a huge thing for us with this squad being at such a disadvantaging age and experience. Regardless of how this championship ends, how it unfolds, for these girls such a match is a mile step ahead. I am very happy that they pushed through mentally and physically because this match cost us a lot of sweat and nerves.”
Top scorer (with 36 points!) Malwina Smarzek: “At 17-14 in the fourth set for Germany, I attacked the block and the referees did not see it – even on the challenge; it would have been 17-15, but instead it was 18-14 and Germany were about to finish it 3-1 and that was a turning point. We got so mad about losing this important point that I, for instance, stopped thinking about the direction of the attack, whether there was a block or not, so this point gave us more power instead of letting us down. Right now, it is no use thinking about what happens after the pool phase, we need to leave the group first and for sure we will be happy with every win without thinking too much about what is going to come. We do not have that much pressure on us as for instance our men’s national team had in their European Championship.”
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