04/07/2017 12:00
Finland poised to add another chapter to their fairy tale in #EuroLeagueW finals
2017 CEV Volleyball European League - Women
Helsinki, Finland, July 4, 2017. Two rookies in the competition – Finland and Ukraine – have made it all the way to the final stage of the 2017 CEV Volleyball European League – Women. They will lock horns for the first time on Wednesday in Helsinki, with Finland hoping to extend their winning streak in the event – so far, the Finns have swept eight matches in a row. The re-match will follow on Sunday, July 9 in Ukraine.
“The team wanted to stay together for one more week, so the summer holidays have become a little shorter for each of us,” says with a bright smile Finland coach Tapio Kangasniemi.
Only a few people could expect Finland would make it to the finals but by achieving this feat, the players have generated a lot of buzz around women’s Volleyball in their home country, where men’s Volleyball has been in the spotlight for some 12 years already, ever since Finland finished fourth at the 2007 European Championship in Moscow.
Kangasniemi was a member of that group himself and he acknowledges that playing Ukraine will be the most challenging fixture for his team this season. “The challenges are getting bigger and bigger and that is great for us. These are great moments for our players and they deserve to experience all this. We all agree that money cannot buy any such moments,” Kangasniemi says.
“We trust the work we have been doing so far and we want to enjoy the moment,” he continues. “We will be trying to play the best we can against Ukraine and will rely on the self-confidence we feel at this moment. We had a great experience last Sunday when playing Slovakia before the home crowd and will be pleased to have the same feeling on Wednesday when taking on Ukraine.”
The match is scheduled for 18:30 local time with live streaming available at LAOLA1.tv and on the website of Finland national broadcasting company, YLE TV 2.
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