All set for historic #EuroVolleyU19W in North Macedonia
Preview
The Volleyball summer continues at full speed with another underage event ready to kick off. The CEV U19 Volleyball European Championship 2022-Women is set to take place in the course of the next days, with Skopje playing host to the crucial battles of the Final Round. From August 27 to September 4, the Volleyball fans in North Macedonia will have the chance to enjoy battles between the most promising young European Volleyball stars.
Türkiye are the defending champions in this age category, and were the highest seeded team in the DoL for the Final Round.
Much is at stake, as besides the trophy and the recognition as the best European team in this underage category, the winner together with the highest classified teams, not already qualified, from the CEV U19W Volleyball European Championship, will qualify for the FIVB U21 Women Volleyball World Championship 2023, according to the vacancies granted by FIVB to Europe (two slots to CEV).
After a historic participation in the Men’s EuroVolley back in 2019, North Macedonia proves as a destination where Volleyball is given the right amount of attention. In the 2022 case, all eyes will be on the top 12 U19 women’s national teams for this historic event in North Macedonian Volleyball, given the fact that this will be the first continental competition of this magnitude to take place in the country.
Final Round
12 teams, composed by players born on January 1st 2004 or thereafter, will lock horns on the road to achieving the big goal.
Pools composition
The 12 qualified teams are divided into two pools.
Formula
The two best teams from each pool will play at the semifinals 1-4, while the third and the fourth from each group qualify for semifinals 5-8. The winners from semifinals 1-4 proceed ahead to the Gold Medal Match, and the losers enter the battle for the Bronze.
The Road to the Final Round
To become one of the Top 12 teams, the sides had to participate in various cycles of qualifications. In the beginning of January 2022, teams competed in 1st Round Qualifiers. The first placed teams from each then proceeded to 2nd Round, where the first placed teams from each pool booked directly their ticket to the Final Round, while the eight best placed teams (not qualified to the Final Round) from the 2nd Round, qualified to the 3rd Round. In the 3rd Round, the first placed team from the two pools qualified to the Final Round.
The hosts
North Macedonia are eager to show what they are capable of. However, since they qualified to the Final Round directly as host, they haven’t had the chance to “warm up” with other matches. On the other hand, this has given them the mental reassurance that they were qualified, meaning that they could have put their focus entirely on the training process and getting to know the opponents from afar.
Teams qualified from Qualifiers
Qualified teams as winners from the 2nd round tournaments
Italy
Italy were hosts of Pool A, where they played against the Netherlands and Germany. With two victories out of two matches, the Italians topped the charts and booked their ticket to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Giulia Viscioni became top scorer of her team in the Qualifiers campaign. She played in only two matches (seven sets) and scored 32 points (an average of 4.57 per set).
Croatia
Croatia did the same in Pool B, where as host, they outperformed their opponents - Sweden and Norway, and emerging victorious with two victories in as many games, proceeded directly to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Mara Stiglic was above all in her team, as she scored 27 points in seven sets (two matches), meaning that she recorded an average of 3.86 per set.
Romania
Romania followed in the steps of Italy and Croatia, and performed their best as hosts in Pool C. The Romanian players met on the court Slovakia and Denmark, and with two victories to their names, they hopped on the direct train to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Denisa-Stefania Cheluta topped the charts for team Romania in the Qualifiers campaign, recording 31 points (4.43 average per set) in seven sets (two matches)
Slovenia
Slovenia hosted the Pool D Qualifier, and did their job right against rivals Finland and Bulgaria. Finishing on a clean slate, they joined the teams already qualified to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Nika Milosic finished the Qualifiers campaign with 25 points (3.57 points per set) as she also played in two matches (seven sets).
Greece
Four teams competed in Pool E, hosted by Greece. The hosts locked horns with France, Latvia and Israel. Becoming the only undefeated team in this group, the Greek players locked the first position and secured a spot at the Final Round.
Look out for…
Martha Evdokia Anthouli is the wonderkid of team Greece, as she amazed with 71 points in nine sets (three matches), meaning that she had scored an average 7.89, an achievement that position her as the best scorer of the Qualifiers.
Switzerland
Switzerland emerged victorious from Pool F, hosted by Bosnia&Herzegovina. The Swiss faced the host and Montenegro, and showed better class in their games against the Balkan teams. With two wins out of two games, they booked their ticket to the Volleyball show in Skopje.
Look out for…
Noelle Lisa Schenker contributed the most for the qualification of Switzerland to the Final Stage of #EuroVolleyU19W. She scored 29 points in two matches (eight sets), with an average 3.62 per set.
Poland
As many as four sides competed in Pool G in Albania. The favourites Poland showed no mercy to Austria, Albania and Ukraine, outclassing them all in straight sets in their respective encounters. Topping the charts, the Poles flew to the Final Round.
Look out for…
Barbara Latos played in five sets (two matches) and became Poland’s best scorer with 16 points (3.2 average per set).
Serbia
Serbia dominated in all their games in the Qualifier in Pool H in the Czech Republic. Meeting the teams of the hosts, Spain and Belgium, the young Serbian players proved better, leaving no chances to their opponents, seizing three 3-0 wins.
Look out for…
Aleksandra Uzelac delivered a good performance, playing in three matches (nine sets), and finishing with 40 points to her name (4.44 average per set).
Türkiye
In the last pool from the 2nd Round, Türkiye shined, recording three victories.
Estonia, Hungary and Kosovo couldn’t find a way to stop them, and the Turkish players did deliver an outstanding performance.
Look out for…
Begüm Kacmaz was one of the main “weapons” on the court for team Türkiye on their way to booking the ticket to the Final Round. She scored 31 points in three matches (nine sets), an average of 3.44 per set. However, she won't be taking part in the competition, and team Türkiye will have to count on their second-best scorer from the Qualifiers- Pelin Eroktay, who played in two matches (six sets) and scored 26 points (an average of 4.33 per set).
Qualified teams as winners from the 3rd round tournaments
There was one last chance for the teams who did not complete their mission in the 2nd round, to book their ticket to the Final Round. In the 3rd round tournaments, held in late June-early July, two pools were organized.
Pool J in the Netherlands saw the hosts, Spain, Estonia and Slovakia entering the deciding battles. The Dutch team was above all, and finishing on the top, joined the already qualified sides.
Look out for…
Nicole Van de Vosse played in five matches (17 sets) in the Qualifiers campaign. She scored 77 points, an average of 4.53 points per set.
Pool K in Montenegro featured the teams of Finland, Austria, France and the hosts. Finland turned out to be the lucky winner and the last team to secure a spot at the title deciding phase of the competition.
Look out for…
With 94 points to her name did Neea-Maria Joki of Finland finish the Qualifiers campaign, becoming top scorer of her team. She performed in five matches (20 sets), meaning that she was scoring an average of 4.7 points per set.
Where to follow
Many interesting matches coming up next, as some of the future stars of women’s European Volleyball will fight for the title at #EuroVolleyU19W. Follow the action live on EuroVolley.TV (from semifinals on), and keep updated on the dedicated webpage&on our social media channels.