Portugal triumph in rollercoaster five-setter, Slovenia with easy win
Recap
On Wednesday night, the rivalry in the CEV Volleyball European Silver League 2022 - Women officially started with two thrilling matches. The bronze medalists of the previous edition from Slovenia were off to a flying start in new seaon, beating Luxembourg on home soil in their first official game under the guidance of the new head coach Marco Bonitta. Once Portugal and Estonia produced a nail-biting five-set battle filled with surprising plot twists and spectacular rallies. Eventually, it was team Portugal to celebrate victory in front of the home crowd.
Slovenia vs Luxembourg 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-14)
The opening set was the most competitive part. Although, the players around coach Marco Bonitta enjoyed a perfect start to the match, taking a 5-0 lead, the set turned into a passionate battle.The visiting team powered by Carla Mulli (6 points in the opener) and Betty Hoffmann (5 points) tied at 11-11 to gain a three-point advantage 21-18 in decisive part. But the hosts were not giving up, with great efforts of Eva Pogavar and Masa Pucelj on the service line they managed not only to catch up the score, but also to get the first set point, which they didn't waste, closing the opener after Selena Leban's spike.
Slovenia kept the momentum by starting the next part with a 10-3 lead. With solid receptions (55% to only 20% on the side of Luxembourg), the hosts were far way successful in attack as well. Nika Milosic was unstoppable, scoring as many as 7 points and recording 80% of success in this element.
The hosts were extremely eager to quickly finish the game. Although Luxembourg tried to fight back, Slovenia jumped to a seven-point-lead at 12-5 and kept the score safe until the last whistle. The home team was dominant in all components, being led by the best scorers of the match - Maja Siftar and Nika Milosic, who contributed with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Portugal vs Estonia 3-2 (25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 26-28, 15-13)
Although the game between Portugal and Estonia was the last match of the day across all European League competitions, the teams put a lot of efforts to make it a cherry on top by playing the first in this edition tie-break. Portugal was leading 2-0 in the match, but Estonia made a furious comeback after two thrilling sets to prolong the game. The emotions ran high in Viana do Castelo, but eventually the hosts prevailed in this dramatic five-setter to earn an important win. Gabriela Coelho topped the scorers chart with 23 points, her teammate Julia Kavalenka scored tallied one less.
The opening set delivered many surprising plot twists. Both teams fought hard for every ball, but it was Estonia to quickly earned a two-point lead at 9-7 that they kept through most of the set with stunning performances of Keru Laak (5 points) and Kadi Kullerkann (4 spikes out of 4!). The hosts tried to bounce back, but it looked that Estonia would prevail in this part, as they stayed on the lead at 22-19. Then Portugal, sparked by their home crowd, started their amazing run. With captain Marta Hurst on the serving line, they not only equaled the score, but after scoring six consecutive points, they led 24-22 and, although they didn't use the first opportunity, they didn't waste the second chance.
After winning the opening set, Portugal got wind under their wings. They ran away with the score in the middle of the set with Katia Oliveira on the service line, they scored seven points in a row to reach their maximum advantage at 15-6. Thanks to a top performance on block - six winning stuffs, and on the service line that included not only 5 aces, but caused a lot of problems to their rivals, they quickly sealed the deal. Julia Kavalenka and Maia Margarida were top scorers of the host side, contributing with seven and six points in this part, respectively.
Having no more room for mistakes, Estonia started the third set by taking an early 6-3 and then 9-4 lead. Laak and Milen helped their team to improve it further, up to 14-6. And once it looked that the distance is safe enough, Portugal once again started to chase the score. The hosts managed to shorten the distance to 22-20, but successful attacks from Peit and Laak moved Estonia to 24-20. At set point, the setter and captain Julija Monnakmae took things in her hand to close the set with her spike.
The next part turned into a true rollercoaster and there were details to decide. Estonia again started it better (7-3), but the hosts quickly made it up and the game continued on a point-by-point basis until 21-21. Then, the game was even more intense. First, Estonia wasted two chances to win the set, later they denied two match points to eventually prolong the game into atie-break.
It was a cold shower for the hosts, Portugal came to the court fully focused on their mission, quickly jumping to a 8-3 lead. But it didn't discourage Estonia, who made a stunning comeback at 12-11. Although the teams battled hard, Portugal managed to find their way to close the match with a lucky block from Barbara Gomes.