16/05/2014 18:51
Ukraine happy with good start into European qualifier, Swiss stand no chance with Poland
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women
Lugano, Switzerland, May 16, 2014. The second-round qualifier for the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women got started at the Resega ice hall in Lugano with Ukraine scoring a straight-set victory over Latvia (25-15, 25-21, 26-24). Later in the evening the home heroines of Switzerland will play their toughest competitor in the Pool, Poland, hoping to cause a sensation before their fans.
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Latvia vs. Ukraine 0:3 (15-25, 21-25, 24-26)
Ukraine opened the program of the tournament playing Latvia, a team that last weekend had finished second at the first-round qualifier in Halmstad, Sweden. Ukraine started off strong and controlled with ease the game in the first and second sets, with a very solid performance from the service area. Latvia seemed not to be able to play with the same intensity they had shown only a few days ago in Sweden. They eventually succeeded in doing so in the third set where they did improve their efficiency in attack and defense. Powered by their captain Ance Auzina the ladies from the Baltic country even claimed three set balls (24:21) but some mistakes and a couple of excellent blocks by their opponents prevented them from calling for a fourth set.
Ukraine’s head coach Gariy Yegiazarov looked satisfied at the end of the match: “There is no better way to start a tournament like this with a straight victory,” he said. “We did not have the chance to play any friendly matches before coming here, so we did not know exactly where we stand. However, this is a situation that we share with Poland and Switzerland as well. As I followed my players on the court, I quickly got a very good feeling. I am especially happy with the 3:0 win because every set in the end will count to determine who will make the Final Round.”
Switzerland vs. Poland 0:3 (16-25, 13-25, 18-25)
Though they have added many young players to their roster, Poland was still too much to stand for the local heroines of Switzerland. Poland delivered a very strong performance to cruise to a 3:0 victory and start their quest for a ticket to the Final Round coming up next year in Belgium and in the Netherlands. Poland’s setter Joanna Wolosz marshaled a good set of spikers who combine excellent physical and technical skills. As announced by Switzerland’s head coach Timo Lippuner, the home players fought bravely and tried to compensate for their technical gap with a lot of enthusiasm and their main star Laura Unternährer. However, her 12 points were not enough to stand the Polish storm with Agnieszka Kakolewska topping the charts of the best scorers with 15 points, including nine spikes out of 10 attempts and five blocks.
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