Bulgaria stun Italy on opening day of #EuroVolleyU16W
News
Turkey, co-hosts Hungary and Russia in Pool I and Bulgaria, Slovakia and Serbia in Pool II started their #EuroVolleyU16W journey on a high note as the continental championship of this age category went underway on Saturday in Nyiregyhaza and Humenne.
In Pool II, Bulgaria caused the major sensation of the day as they thumped 2019 silver medallists Italy 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-22). Even though Italy put up a fight, Bulgaria controlled the match from start to end with their opposite hitter Iva Dudova top scoring with 15 points – as many as those recorded by her Italian counterpart Amelie Vighetto.
Kaya Nikolova“We are very happy with this victory against Italy; it is a good first step in the tournament. We prepared well and played like a team. The key today was our good performance in attack, where we did really well.”
Middle-blocker of Bulgaria
Later in the afternoon, hosts Slovakia routed Romania in three sets as well (25-13, 25-17, 25-22). Heavily supported by dozens of fans, including family and relatives, Slovakia imposed their supremacy in the first and second set as well. The third set was the most balanced – as Romania came back from 9-15 to 17-15 when captain Carolina Radu was serving, but in the end the Slovak team regrouped to claim a 3-point victory. Slovak opposite Nina Dreisigová registered 16 points, as outside hitter Michaela Kánová contributed to the victory with 14 points. On the Romanian side of the net, Stefania Teodora Alupei was the most prolific player with nine points.
Nina Dreisigova“The feelings after the first victory are great, and I hope we will continue like this for the next few days. The fans were incredible, their energy helped us a lot and we thank them very much for that. If we play the same way tomorrow, I think we can fight against Croatia for a good result as well.”
Opposite of Slovakia
The evening match was the most dramatic one. Croatia won the first set, where from 17-17 they gained six points in a row. Serbia dominated the second set (25-10), but in the third set Croatia had the upper hand. However, Serbia did not give up, won the fourth set and the tiebreak too. The star of the match was the outside hitter of Serbia Ana Mihajlovic, who scored a massive haul of 35 points.
Over in Nyiregyhaza, reigning U16 European champions Turkey started their quest for a second continental title with a 3-1 victory over Poland propelled by Eslem Yilmaz and Liza Safronova, who recorded 24 and 20 points, respectively. With this generation of players, Turkey are hoping to repeat their success from two years ago when they beat Italy in the final match in Trieste.
With more than 200 fans on the stands, hosts Hungary delivered a truly impressive performance to secure a 3-1 victory over their neighbours from the Czech Republic, with their team effort responding to the 24 points scored by Nela Jaseckova for the Czechs. Cecilia Noemi Jambor and Mirtill Eröss finished the match in double digits for the home side.
In the last match of the day in Nyiregyhaza, Russia proved too strong for the young Yellow Tigers of Belgium, cruising to a 3-0 victory in 69 minutes powered by Veronika Eremeeva (11 points).
The third edition of this championship continues on Sunday with the second round of pool action.