Spain complete the Final Four squad, Romania and Slovakia finish #EuroLeagueW with a win

This was an all-important match for both Spain and France as they fought for the last spot in the European Golden League Final Four. Spain needed to win two sets to reach the final phase and succeeded at the end of the third set. France did not give up and fought until they won the entire match in five sets. Romania and Slovakia finished the competition with victories. Despite winning with Spain on Saturday night, Romania had no chances to reach the Final Four, but the team was determined to go home after a win. The victory allowed Slovakia finish this round second in Pool B, while Ukraine fell to the third position. Neither of the teams earned enough wins and ranking points to reach the Final Four.

As the host of European Golden League Final Four, Bulgaria had their spot in the final phase secured. Following their successful campaign in the Pool B, the last spot in the Final Four became available for the best runner-up across all pools. The best teams and runner-ups of Pools A and C will be determined after discounting results against the last placed team from both Pools.
Spain needed to win two sets to secure their spot in the Final Four - a potential five-setter win for France would give both teams the same number of victories, but Spain would be able to pass France on ranking points.

The Spanish team put pressure on France from the very beginning, quickly getting into a 7-3 lead that was soon extended to 16-8. France couldn’t find the way to challenge their opponents in that first set and Spain secured a 25-16 win. Strong block was one of their key elements as the Spanish team won 6 points from blocks in the first set alone.

It was all or nothing going forward for France, who had to win the match in three or four sets if they wanted to gain their place in the Final Four. After a slow start, France caught up with Spain at 5-5 and the game continued with neither side allowing their opponent to go ahead by more than by two points. The French team had their first set point at 24-23 and Lucille Gicquel seized the opportunity, scoring a spike for 25-23.

A tight fight continued into the beginning of the third set, but Spain slowly began to take control over the game. Although their lead varied from three points to just one at times, when France tried to tie the score, the Spanish team did not allow their opponents to make a comeback in this set. Spain sealed the deal at 25-17, achieving the minimum of required sets that granted them a spot in the Final Four. 

Following the decisive match, both teams allowed some of their substitute players to enter the court and carry on the match. France brought new energy into the fourth set, taking the lead very early on and claiming the set at 25-14. The tie break began under control of the French side, but Spain came as close as 10-12. From that moment France continued their scoring run, finishing the game at 15-10.

• With the result, Spain finished first in Pool A on a record of four wins and two losses and 13 ranking points, one more than runner-up France.

• Héléna Cazaute emerged as the best scorer with 20 points for France. Her teammate Lucille Gicquel foollowed with 19 points.

• On Spain’s side of the net Ana Escamilla and Maria Segura Palleres scored 18 and 17 points respectively.

• Spain had a significant dominance in block, scoring 16 points in this element comparing to France’s 5.

• Lucrecia Castellano contributed 9 blocks, becoming the best blocker of the game.

Both teams began the match going head to head in the opening set of the match. A short run put Slovakia ahead at 23-20, but Ukraine hit right back, scoring five points in a row and claiming the first set. The Ukrainians continued their good performance into the second set, taking a 12-9 lead, but Slovakia came close to 11-12. The real challenge was yet to come when Slovakia tied at 17-17 and both teams fought point by point until Slovakia won the second set at 30-28. The third set was under control of the Slovakian side, who established an advantage at 16-9 and maintained the lead until winning 25-14. The story was repeated in the fourth set, where Slovakia worked to gain a significant lead from the first rallies and patiently increased their advantage until finishing the match at 25-13.

• Romana Kriskova and Karin Palgutova top scored with 25 and 24 points respectively for Team Slovakia

• On Ukraine’s side, Yuliya Boyko, Karyna Denysova and Maryna Mazenko scored 10 points apiece for their team 

• Tereza Hrusecka was the best blocker of the game, scoring 6 our of 13 blocks gained by Slovakia

• Ukraine scored 11 blocks, with Yuliya Boyko emerging as the leading blocker with 4 points

Azerbaijan started the match putting a lot of pressure on Romania, which soon paid off with a significant lead at 16-11 and 21-15. The Romanians found their way back into the game at the end of the set, not only making the score level but winning at 26-24. The odds turned in the second set, when Romania started with an 8-3 lead, that increased onto a 16-8 and 20-9 gap. The leading team seized their chance at the first set point, winning at 25-12. Azerbaijan hit back from the first balls in the third set, going 5-2 ahead. Romania managed to tie the score, but Azerbaijan worked their way ahead yet again at 13-10. The three-point advantage continued on Azerbaijan’s side through 16-13 and 22-19, before they reached their first set point at 24-21. Romania fought back yet again, levelling the score at 24-24 and claiming their last set and final victory at 27-25.

• Alexia Ioana Carutasu ended as the top scorer of the match with 16 points, followed by Francesca Ioana Alupei who contributed 14 points

• Anastasiia Mertsalova was the top scorer for Azerbaijan with 14 points

• Romania performed significantly better in serve and block, scoring 8 and 12 points respectively in those elements

• Carutasu was her team’s best server with 3 aces, while Alupei scored 7 blocks