Luxembourg, June 28, 2017. The 2017 edition of the CEV Volleyball European League – Women is entering its final, most exciting stage, which started on Wednesday with the first round of the semi-finals where rookies Finland and Ukraine claimed 3-2 and 3-1 wins in their respective matchups with Slovakia and Spain. The re-matches are scheduled for this coming Sunday, July 2 and will take place in Helsinki and Guadalajara.
Slovakia vs. Finland 2-3 (23-25, 25-15, 25-20. 17-25, 12-15)
2016 European League silver medal winners Slovakia claimed a 22-20 lead in the first set of their home match with Finland but the visitors were able to fight their way back to cruise to a 25-23 win with the help of Daniela Öhman’s service. Slovakia controlled the match from start to finish of the second set, this resulting in a landslide 25-15 win, which meant Finland lost their first set in this year’s European League after sweeping six consecutive matches in Pool A, all won by 3-0. Slovakia served and attacked better than the opposition in the third set as well (25-20) but the ‘Suomis’ did not give in, taking the fourth 25-17 and the all-deciding tiebreak as well (15-12) to set their sights on the finals.
Tapio Kangasniemi, coach of Finland: “This victory is important, but it was only a first step. We can play better than we did here, but we are satisfied. It was a tough game, Slovakia played well, and they did so especially in defence and with their service. Our team is mentally strong, and I think we showed that after losing the third set. We changed our tactics in attack and it was the key to our victory.”
Laura Pihlajamäki, captain of Finland: “We started really well, but Slovakia improved their game and we ended up trailing 1-2. We were aggressive in the fourth set and we knew that if we had taken that one, we were going to win the match as well. It was our tenth victory this season and we are satisfied. However, the job it not done yet and we need to confirm this victory at home. Our supporters will provide us with some extra energy when we play in Helsinki.”
Marek Rojko, coach of Slovakia: “I think that the first set was very important. We did lead by two points, but we were not able to close it in our favour. We were leading after three sets, but after that we had some troubles with one rotation and Finland used their chance. We lost, but these two teams are playing at a similar level and everything is wide-open before the re-match in Helsinki.”
Dominika Drobnakova, outside hitter of Slovakia: “We are disappointed, because I think that we could win this game. After three sets we started to make a lot of errors and it was important towards Finland’s comeback. The Finnish players showed that they are real fighters, but we will not give up either.”
Ukraine vs. Spain 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21)
Ukraine extended their winning streak in this year’s European League to seven matches in a row and they did so by edging Spain 3-1 in Ivano-Frankivsk. Ukraine previously swept six matches in Pool B to start their maiden European League campaign on a high note and they continued to play just with the same intensity and consistency also in the home matchup with Pool C winners, Spain.
Ukraine had started preparing for the matchup with Spain last week already after securing first place in Pool B and as a result, the right to challenge the Spaniards in the semis. Spain caught a promising start to the match claiming a small lead before after the second technical timeout they had to play catch up. Ukraine stormed to a 20-18 lead before Nadiia Kodola and Yuliya Gerasymova scored two points in a row to pave the way towards a 25-19 win.
The second set was an easy ride for Ukraine as the hosts controlled the game from start to end (25-21); they strengthened their block by substituting Anastasiia Chernukha a few times but this did not affect their performance in any way. However, Ukraine trailed 0-5 early in the third set and even though Iryna Trushkina replaced Gerasymova, Spain emerged victorious from a close finish (26-24). Trushkina played from start to end in the fourth set and together with Kodola and Karyna Denysova she helped Ukraine cruise to a 25-21 win to seal their 3-1 victory, with the last point contributed by Kodola.
Once again, team captain Nadiia Kodola and Anna Stepaniuk were the key players towards the Ukrainian success as they scored 17 points apiece, as many as those recorded by Spain’s captain Helia Gonzalez. It was a close match but Ukraine made the difference especially with their block (15 in the end, vs. six for Spain) to get an edge ahead of the re-match coming up on Sunday in Guadalajara.
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