Аll set for first-ever edition of #EuroVolleyU21W
Preview
The Final Round of the inaugural edition of the CEV U21 Volleyball European Championship - Women is about to kick off in Puglia, in the Italian towns of Cerignola and Andria. As many as 8 teams will contest in the newly launched competition from July 12 to 17, battling it out for the maiden title.
Hosts Italy (reigning FIVB Volleyball U20 Women’s Champions from 2021) welcome players born on 1st of January 2002 or thereafter from Serbia, Poland, Austria, Türkiye, Israel, Denmark and Ukraine, as these are the teams who booked their spots at the Final Round after the Qualifiers in late May.
The 2022 #EuroVolleyU21W acts as a test event for the future editions, planned to have Qualifiers in 2023 and Finals in 2024, as the main goal of the event is “to give the floor” to Europe’s rising stars and making smoother the transition to the senior national teams.
The Pools
The Final Round will be played with two pools of four teams each.
Pool I
Austria, Italy, Serbia, Ukraine
Pool II
Denmark, Israel, Poland, Türkiye
Formula
The teams will play single round robin in the Pool phase. The two best placed teams from each pool will continue to the semifinals (1-4) and all remaining teams will leave the tournament. On the Final day, the Bronze and Gold medal matches will take place.
Road to the Final Round
The Hosts - Italy
Italy qualified for the Final Round directly as hosts. As reigning World champions U20, the team is considered one of the big favourites for winning the title. Counting on some key players from last year’s World Championship - Loveth Omoruyi (Best Outside Spiker at the 2021 U20 World Championship) and Giorgia Frosini, for example, the players of head coach Luca Pieragnoli will look for the best result possible. In the preparation for the Final Round, the Italians faced Türkiye in two friendly games. In the first one, the teams played four sets (each team won two sets), while in the second one, the Italians outplayed their opponents at 3-2.
As for the other seven teams, they battled it out in Qualifiers in Serbia, Poland, Austria and Montenegro. The first placed team from each pool qualified to the Final Round, and the remaining places were be filled by the next best ranked teams across all pools.
Pool A in Serbia
Serbia won the Qualifier on home soil, competing against Denmark and Latvia, and recording two straight-sets victories, thus, booking a ticket to the Final Round. Denmark, on the other hand, finished second, but with one win 3-1, and one loss 0-3, were able to secure a position as a next best ranked team, and will compete with the strongest teams as well.
Look out for…
With an average 4 points/per set, middle blocker Ana Malesevic of Serbia was the team’s top scorer in the Qualification. Denmark’s Frederikke Stenholt Krogh turned out to be the “weapon” of coach Skafte Herskind, as she was the best for her team with 4.29 points per set.
Pool B in Poland
Poland, Ukraine, Czechia and Hungary locked horns in Pool B. The hosts of the Qualifier did their job right, seizing as many as three wins (two 3-0 and one 3-1), and with no problems, topped the charts.
Ukraine qualified as next best ranked team, having two victories (3-1, 3-2) and one loss to their names (1-3).
Look out for…
Julita Piasecka is currently second in the Best Outside Spiker Ranking (as per results of the Qualification round), as she has 50 points to her name (5 average per set) and is the Top Scorer for her team as well.
For Ukraine, Valeriia Yakusheva did not disappoint, converting herself into Best Scorer of her team (72 points, but also played two more sets -13, than the second best, Alice Clemente of Portugal, who had 57 points in 11 sets). Yakusheva finished the Qualifier campaign with an average of 5.54 points/per set, which is the best result so far.
Pool D in Austria
Following the example of other hosts of the qualifiers, Austria also entered the battles for the ticket to the Final Round motivated to continue ahead. And so they did, battling it out against Israel, Bulgaria and Faroe Islands.
Finishing on a clean sheet, with three victories (two times 3-0, and one time 3-1), the Austrian players flew to the title-deciding round. Israel, on the other hand, qualified as next best team, with two victories (3-0) and one loss (1-3).
Look out for…
Julia Trunner was above all in Austria, contributing with 3.3 points/average per set in the Qualifier.
Shirel Ganah of Israel was leading her team with an average of 3.9 points/per set, while Israel’s libero, Nirzan Aines showed some good plays as well, and her reception efficiency (12%) might help a lot her team.
Pool E in Montenegro
Impeccable, Türkiye outplayed Portugal, Montenegro and Iceland in the Qualifier in Pool E, thus, making it to the Final Round without a single loss. Furthermore, the players led by head coach Halil Resat Yaziciogullari didn't drop a set on their way to booking the ticket to the title-deciding phase.
Look out for…
Derin Ezgi Tasdemir played in seven sets in the Qualifier stage, but this was enough for her to become her team’s Best Scorer with 35 points (5 average/per set), and might very well cause problems to the opponents’ defence. Team Türkiye counts as well on well-experienced libero as Gülce Güctekin as she finished with 30% exc.in reception, and efficiency of 17%.
Where to follow
#EuroVolleyU21W will for sure have a lot to give to Volleyball fans, as Еurope’s rising stars on the women’s side will lock horns for the maiden title in this age group. Entrance to the matches is free in the Pool phase, while for the semifinals and finals fans will have to buy tickets. More information here.
You can follow the action live on EuroVolley.TV (from semifinals on) as well, or on the YouTube channel of the Italian Volleyball Federation (all matches to be livestreamed).
Keep updated on the dedicated webpage&on our social media channels.