Spain and Bulgaria keep strong leader positions, France make a step toward keeping Final Four chances alive
Recap
Spain, Croatia, Belarus, France and Bulgaria were the winners of their respective matches in another day of action at the European Golden League. Pool C finished their rivalry today, with Czech Republic remaining top of the table, followed by Croatia with 11 points after 4 victories. Pool A and B will continue their games throughout the weekend. Spain hold a strong position in Pool A after a four-setter match against Azerbaijan, while France climb up to the second position after winning against Romania. Despite having secured their spot at the Final Four as a host, Bulgaria continue to prove their quality as leaders of the table in Pool B.
Croatia v Hungary
3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-23)
Pool C
The first set of the match between Croatia and Hungary was balanced from the beginning. Neither team wanted to leave the tournament by losing, finally after a great serve by Klara Perić, the Croatian players won the first set. The second set was dominated by Croatia from the beginning until the end. In the last set the Hungarian players improved their game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Croatia.
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Samanta Fabris was the top scorer with 15 points, followed by her teammate Matea Ikic with 14 points
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Bozana Butigan was the best blocker in the match with 4 points in this element
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Hungary allowed almost all of their players to get some court time. Kata TÖRÖK and Eszter Anna PEKÁRIK led on their side of the net with 9 points each.
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PEKÁRIK was also the best blocker in the Hungarian team with 3 stuffs.
Daniele Santarelli"We finished this tournament the best way. It is not easy to adapt to our opponents. The Hungarian players have very different style of volleyball, they have very balanced players, so I am glad we managed to adapt our system of the game to them."
Coach of Croatia
Jakub Gluszak"Congratulations to Croatia on claiming three victories in the second tournament of the Golden European League. We were not able to use our advantage in the last part of the set and that is the reason why we lost 3-0 today."
Coach of Hungary
Spain v Azerbaijan
3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-13)
Pool A
Spain gained another 3 points, after winning their fourth match in the European Golden League. The team led from the first moments of the first set, but Azerbaijan fought back in the second set, keeping a close score between them and the opponent. Spain found back their dominance towards the end of the third set and carried it onto the last set, securing their fourth win so far.
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Raquel Montoro led throughout the match, finishing as the top scorer with 18 points. Fellow Spanish teammate Ana Escamilla was trailing behind with 17 points.
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On Azerbaijan’s side Anastasiia Mertsalova scored 16 points for her team
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Spain dominated in block, scoring 16 points collectively. This tally includes 4 blocks by Carlota Garcia.
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Azerbaijan performed better at the service line, registering 6 aces.
Maria Segura Palleres“It was a really nice victory, we played the first set really good. We were struggling a bit in the second and third set, we were not playing our game. In the fourth we built it up again, we were organised in block-defence. We didn’t make as many mistakes, we controlled the service. It’s a big victory, because I think we are pretty close to qualifying to the Final Four, so we are really happy.”
Captain of Spain
Bulgaria v Slovakia
3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-22)
Pool B
Bulgaria continue their winning run in Pool B, after they claimed their second straight set win against Slovakia. The Final Four hosts prove strong leaders of the Pool, having three victories so far. The Bulgarian coaching staff allowed the majority of their players to get some game time and experience. Slovakia suffered their third loss and remain at the bottom of the table, having only won one point in three games.
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Elitsa Vasileva and Nikola Radosova ended as the top scorers with 13 points each
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Slovakia led in blocking element, gaining 11 points collectively, while Bulgaria scored 7
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Bulgaria in return dominated at the service line with 6 aces scored vs 2 for Slovakia
Elitsa Vasileva“The emotions are running high. It was great to play in front of some fans today. It was so special that these were our supporters. I feel like I am 16 years old and I have just played my first game for Bulgaria. It was very important to win and we did our job in the best possible way.”
Captain of Bulgaria
Marco Fenoglio“We have to accept that Bulgaria is a much stronger team than us. We tried to do our best, but we failed. Now we will have a game against Ukraine on Sunday. We could score some points for the European and World ranking. Ukraine is not as strong as Bulgaria.”
Head coach of Slovakia
Romania v France
0-3 (17-25, 18-25, 23-25)
Pool A
France celebrate a victory over Romania, following their previous meeting last week when the Romanians emerged victorious in five sets. This time France wrapped up the match in three sets, jumping to the second position in Pool A. Both teams have the same number of wins so far, but France lead with 7 points, while Romania fall into third position with 6 points. The Tournament is held in Harnes in France, where the French team played the European Golden League back in 2018. Lucille Gicquel was back in the squad, following a minor injury that kept her off the court in the first tournament.
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France jump to second position in Pool A, with 2 victories and 7 points
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Lucille Gicquel emerged as the leading scorer with 17 points for France
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Alexia Ioana Carutasu was the top scorer for Romania with 11 points
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France led in block and serve, scoring 8 and 5 points respectively
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Romania gained 5 blocks and 3 aces collectively
Nina Stojilikovic“It’s a great victory for us. I’m happy and proud that we won tonight, because in our first match against Romania we lost 3-2. Today it was a nice win, I’m happy about it and can’t wait for the next matches. I think we served quite well, we used aggressive and sometimes tactical serves. We were able to manage their game and their strengths, so that’s how we won in straight sets today.”
Setter of France
Lucille Gicquel"We started the match very well by doing series of serve points. We were very positive, even when we took series of points. It paid off and tipped the match in our favour. Personally, it felt complicated before the event, I joined the team only 2 days before, I had only 2 training sessions. I expected it to be a little complicated, but it worked pretty well. We can still reach Final Four, we know we have to at least win all games. We started well today, we will try to confirm it this weekend."
Opposite of France
Belarus v Czech Republic
3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 21-25, 15-8)
Pool C
The teams of the Czech Republic and Belarus clashed in the last match of the Golden European League 2021 in Prague. Due to the great physical workload of the players, for whom this match was already a sixth game in seven days, Ioannis Athanasopoulos decided to give the Czech team substitutes a chance to gain national team experience. The Belarusians were giving the hosts a hard time from the beginning of the match. However, the Czech volleyball national team came back and levelled the match at 2-2. The hosts ran out of strength in the fifth set and the Belarusians claimed the victory. The result keeps Belarus in the third position at the end of competition in Pool C.
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Belarus led throughout the first two sets, when the Czech Republic tied the score leading up to a tie-break
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Lucie Nova scored whooping 29 points for Czech Republic, becoming the best scorer in the women’s competition today
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Hanna Davyskiba scored 19 points for Belarus
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Both teams performed well in block, with Belarus scoring 13 points and Czech Republic securing 16 points in this element
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Belarus performed great at the service line, scoring 12 aces collectively
Ioannis Athanasopoulos"Today I decided to give a chance to players who have not been involved in the games so far. At first they were nervous, but I'm proud of how they fought and led the match to the fifth set. The result could have been happier, but the girls showed me that I can count on them in the upcoming matches."
Coach of Czech Republic
Yuliya Miniuk"I think it was good for the last match. The spectators had to like the five sets and we are glad we are finishing this tournament with a win."
Middle blocker of Belarus