Romania's victory stirred up rivalry in Pool A, Bulgaria scored a perfect run
Romania secured an all-important victory in Pool A after winning a five-setter thriller against Spain. The Romanians trailed 0-2 behind and completed a comeback that keeps their chances of reaching the Final Four alive. France secured their second straight-set victory on home court, after winning against Azerbaijan on Saturday night. The victory puts the team in good spirits ahead of their final match with Spain which might be a decisive element of rivalry in Pool A.
Following their victory against Slovakia on Friday night, Bulgaria faced Ukraine in their last match in the Pool, securing their fourth win. Ukraine will continue their journey tomorrow playing against Slovakia.
Romania vs Spain
3-2 (24-26, 24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 15-12)
Pool A
Both teams went head to head in the first two sets, with Spain initially losing their four-point advantage in the first set, only for Romania to suffer the same issue in the second part. Spain won both sets by a slim margin, at 24-26. Romania found a new motivation across the third and fourth set, with Alexia Ioana Carutasu leading the way as the top scorer for her side. The fifth set was the closest between the two teams, who played point for point until 12-11. Romania eventually secured the final victory at 15-12.
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Alexia Ioana Carutasu was the top scorer of the game with 28 points for the winning side. Adelina Budai-Ungureanu followed with 22 points.
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Ana Escamilla scored 26 points for Spain, while Maria Segura Palleres and Raquel Montoro scored 21 and 20 points respectively.
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Both team fought head to head at the service line, with Spain scoring 5 aces and Romania contributing 4 points in this element
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The block worked well on both sides of the net - Spain scored 16 points and Romania 15.
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Alexia Ioana Carutasu and Lucrecia Castellano were the best blockers, scoring 6 points each for their teams.
Maria Segura Palleres“It’s a bit disappointing, because we were 2-0 ahead, we were leading the game playing our best volley in the tournament. In the third set we did not defend much and we made so many mistakes in the 5th set, especially in service and defense. I think we lost the game because of our defense. It is a difficult feeling now just after the match because we have to wait for the result of the France match to know if we still have a chance to qualify. But we will play our best tomorrow to win.”
Captain of Spain
Marius Vasile Macicasan“We played very well, but we made too many mistakes in the second set. Spain played very quickly and for us it was very difficult to understand some things in block and defense. But today my team had good concentration for what they had to do. They didn’t lose their focus when Spain sometimes worked very well. I’m happy about that.”
Coach of Romania
Adelina Budai-Ungureanu“It’s a win so we are definitely happy. We would have preferred for it to be 3-0, but I’m happy for the team and how they reacted in the third set. We’ve put some things together and I’m happy about the result. We made too many direct errors and it’s very hard to win this way. The key was to stop these errors and communicate more. The change was in our game, that’s what the coach told us - to improve our game and that is what we did.”
Outside hitter of Romania
Ukraine vs Bulgaria
0-3 (23-25, 20-25, 12-25)
Pool B
Ukraine began the match with a slight advantage, but Bulgaria recovered towards the end of the first set to claim it at 25-23. The Bulgarians carried their run onto the second set, quickly establishing a three-point lead that extended throughout the set. Ukraine attempted to make a comeback, defending several set points of Bulgaria, but were unable to tie the score. Bulgaria's dominance continued into the third set, where the Ukrainians were unable to put up a challenge against their opponents.
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Ukraine’s Karyna Denysova led on the scoreboard throughout the entire match, scoring 14 points overall.
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Miroslava Paskova gained 15 points for the winning side.
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The Bulgarians were slightly more successful in block, scoring 9 points to Ukraine’s six.
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Bulgaria finish the League Round with four victories in as many matches.
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The Ukrainians are set to face Slovakia in their last match of this Tournament.
Vladimir Orlov“Bulgaria was better than us, there is no doubt. I am happy that we played very well in the first two games. The match was very emotional. I rested few of my first choice players in the third part. We have a very important game on Sunday against Slovakia.”
Coach of Ukraine
Miroslava Paskova“We did our job perfectly. The coaching staff is doing great. We play as one. The Golden League is a very important part of our preparation for CEV EuroVolley 2021. We need to improve and we have enough time.”
Outside spiker of Bulgaria
Ivan Petkov“We proved that we are stronger. We dominated the entire game. I want to see better play. For the first time in the last two games I have all the players in the team. Ukraine played strong and we need to improve in the next weeks.”
Coach of Bulgaria
France vs Azerbaijan
3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-20)
Pool A
France established an advantage at the start of the first set, expanding it patiently until the team secured the opening part 25-14. Azerbaijan responded taking an early lead in the second set, but France managed to level up and go ahead themselves. The hosts performed well at the service line, challenging Azerbaijan’s passing players. The last set proved more challenging as Azerbaijan kept the score closer. Emilie Respaut’s entry toward the end of the set allowed France to put more pressure from the service line, eventually securing their victory in three sets.
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Lucille Gicquel was once more the top scorer for France with 15 points, but Héléna Cazaute trailed shortly behind with 14.
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Anastasiia Baidiuk scored 8 points for Azerbaijan.
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France dominated in serve, scoring 11 aces, including 3 points each by Amandha Marine Sylves and Emilie Respaut.
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The hosts also scored more points in block, with 9 stuffs comparing to 3 on Azerbaijan’s side.
Manon Moreels“I had a lot of adrenaline before the game, I wanted to play and show what I could do. We entered the game very well, I gained confidence and tried to make myself useful, bring my strengths. It was a nice victory. We fought hard on every ball, and it’s becoming one of our strengths, our trademark. We had a lot of rallies, it was great to win them for the morale and the progress of the game. Spain’s loss motivates us even more, if we win 3-0 or 3-1, we can reach the Final Four, that's our goal."
Outside spiker of France
Vugar Aliyev“I want to congratulate the French team, because they played very good today. I am not happy with our game, we made too many mistakes. Tomorrow we will try to do much better, because we have nothing to lose.”
Coach of Azerbaijan
Félix André“It is the ideal scenario, because we can play for the Final Four tomorrow! We had a good quality of service, we knew that the reception was one of the weak points of Azerbaijan, it helped us to put our block-defense behind. We were aggressive in spiking, we could rely on a lot of good defenses to counter-attack. The passing also held well as it should, we always knew how to keep the level. The return of Lucille Gicquel gives us the offensive power, but we also have solutions on the bench.”
Assistant Coach of France