17/05/2014 18:38
Poland surges back to claim tie-break victory over Ukraine, first Swiss hurrah in Lugano
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women
Lugano, Switzerland, May 17, 2014. On Saturday Poland claimed their second victory at the European qualifier taking place at Resega ice hall in Lugano. The players in red and white jerseys nevertheless had to stand the fierce resistance opposed by their opponents from Ukraine who had jumped out to a 2:0 lead. Poland could eventually come back from two sets down to win the match at the tie-break (25-27, 17-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-10) thereby following up on their straight victory over hosts Switzerland from Friday. The Swiss ladies returned to the court on Saturday afternoon as well powering to a 3:1 victory over Latvia (25-22, 5-16, 16-25, 25-12) to get back on track as they are also vying for a ticket to the Final Round of the European Championship.
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Ukraine vs. Poland 2:3 (27-25, 25-17, 21-25, 19-25, 10-15)
Ukraine started out very strong displaying an excellent defense that could control the powerful attacks killed by Poland’s spikers. Though the players in red and white jerseys recorded seven blocks in the opening set, this performance was not enough to bring it home with Ukraine cruising to the final 27-25. Ukraine set the tempo of the game also in the second set where they were up 8:4 and 16:9 at the first and second technical time-out respectively. Poland’s head coach Piotr Makowski made some changes in his starting six but Ukraine controlled the game and finished it off at 25-17. The course of the game changed completely in the third set where Poland played with great intensity, the same they had displayed in Friday’s debut with Switzerland. The consistency of the Ukrainian spikers fell down quite dramatically and Poland cashed set 3 and 4 to call for the tie-break. Poland continued to perform strong also in the fifth set and with this 3:2 victory they made sure they will finish this first round robin atop the charts before actions resume next week in Bydgoszcz.
Latvia vs. Switzerland 1:3 (22-25, 16-25, 25-16, 12-25)
The Swiss ladies looked very determined to win their first match in the tournament as they are vying for their fourth appearance in a Final Round of the European Championship (they did so in 1967, 1971 and 2013). They showed their qualities and skills right from the start of the match leading the way in the first set which they eventually won by 25-22. The second set was absolutely one-sided with Switzerland taking control of the operations already by the first technical time-out and holding on to it with a superb performance in attack (58%). Latvia came back strong in the third set and since the home heroines looked a little tired, head coach Timo Lippuner decided to make some changes in his starting six. Elena Steinemann and Sarah Van Rooij joined the game and performed very strong in attack as well as in defense. The fourth set was just a matter of routine for the home side which could eventually celebrate their first victory in the competition.
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