10/05/2014 22:00
Second straight victory for Sweden to delight home crowd at Halmstad Arena
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women
Halmstad, Sweden, May 10, 2014. The home heroines of Sweden scored on Saturday a second straight victory at the first-round qualifier for the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women at Halmstad Arena. Sweden followed yesterday’s victory over Georgia with a 3:1 win over Latvia (15-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-15) to keep a perfect record in the competition. Norway claimed their first victory in the tournament as the other Scandinavian team participating in the tournament routed Georgia in straight sets (25-19, 32-30, 25-15). On Sunday the competition will come to a close with Sweden playing neighbors Norway and Latvia taking on Georgia to determine the teams – the first and second placed – that will progress to the second round of qualifications coming up later this month.
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Latvia vs. Sweden 1:3 (25-15, 16-25, 14-25, 15-25)
Sweden was able to compensate for a slow start in their match with Latvia storming back to win three sets in a row and claim their second victory in the competition. Even though the home crowd cheered on the local ladies right from the beginning, Sweden lacked consistency while Latvia played very aggressive. After a horrible first set, Sweden turned the tables around and imposed their pace for the remainder of the match.
Sweden’s head coach Tina Celinder-Nygren was satisfied in the end: “I am really, really happy!” she said. “We will enjoy this victory and start preparing for our last match with Norway. They have a very good team and it will be an interesting match.” The Swedish mentor was especially happy with the performance of 14-year old opposite Isabelle Haak (pictured), who scored 14 points and was awarded MVP of the match together with Latvia’s Ance Auzina.
Norway vs. Georgia 3:0 (25-19, 32-30, 25-15)
In the other match of the day Norway fought back after losing to Latvia on Friday to claim their first victory in the tournament. The first and third sets were dominated by the Scandinavians while the second developed into a real thriller, where Norway eventually had the upper hand after surviving a series of set balls for Georgia.
“The first and third sets went as we had planned,” Norway’s head coach Odd Atle Ekerhovd said. “However, in the second set we made things too difficult and we are responsible for this. I am happy with the fighting spirit and high morale we displayed in this match.”
As for the match coming up on Sunday with Sweden, the Norwegian mentor says: “I think it is going to be a very interesting match and it will be fun to play Sweden on their home court.”
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