Czech Republic vs. Bulgaria in Grand Prix Group 3 final

Samokov, Bulgaria, August 17, 2014.  Czech Republic vs. Bulgaria is the final in Group 3 of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix 2014 to take place in Samokov on August 17 at 19:10 local time.  Croatia and Kazakhstan will face each other at 16:10 to settle the third place.

The two semifinals took place on Saturday afternoon in the Bulgarian Rila mountain town.  In an exciting five-setter, the Czech Republic came back from behind twice to eventually overpower Croatia by 3:2 (26-28, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10) with Aneta Havlickova and Helena Havelkova contributing 27 and 24 points, respectively, to the victory.  “It was a very difficult match for us,” Havelkova admitted.  “Both teams showed equal play, but the fifth set was the most important.  It all depended on it and I am very happy to have won it. Now we have to rest a bit and think of the final.”

In the second semifinal Bulgaria pleased the home crowd outplaying Kazakhstan by 3:1 (25-16, 25-23, 21-25, 25-14) with Dobriana Rabadzhieva topping the scorers’ chart with 19 points.  “We were very prepared for the team of Kazakhstan,” Bulgaria’s captain Strashimira Filipova commented.  “We really wanted this win badly and I think that we have used our opportunities in the best way.  In the third set we had some downs, but this is normal in women’s volleyball.”

Click here for more info on the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix.