GERMANY AND NETHERLANDS HOLD UNDEFEATED STATUS

European Qualification Tournament for 2005 FIVB Grand Prix

Ankara, Turkey, September 22, 2004. Germany and the Netherlands are still going strong during the 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix European Qualification Tournament after the second competition day here in Ankara, Turkey. The Netherlands booked a surprisingly easy 3-0 victory over Turkey whilst earlier on in the day Germany defeated Bulgaria 3-0. European Champion Poland bounced back from the defeat against Netherlands on Tuesday by outclassing Romania with a
convincing 3-0 win.

The Dutch team are playing a great tournament here in Ankara, Turkey. After defeating the European Champion Poland, the Orange squad then nailed down Vice-European Champion Turkey in front of almost 5’000 spectators on Wednesday evening. The Turkish home team didn't get off to a good start with the Netherlands leading 8-2 at the first technical time-out, an advantage which they never relinquished. As in the clash with Poland, Francien Huurman was the best scorer on the Dutch side with 17 points, together with the young Manon Flier. One of the reasons the Netherlands are playing so well is the return of two of their top stars. Setter Riette Fledderus, who already took the European Championship gold medal in 1995, returned to the team after an absence of almost two years. Furthermore, after being incapacitated due to a knee injury for a long time, the tall spiker Chaine Staelens is back on form.
Germany easily sailed to a 2-0 win/lose record during the six teams single round robin qualification event. The European Championship bronze medalist didn’t lose a set against Bulgaria after defeating Romania with the same score on Tuesday. With two easy wins in their pocket, Germany is almost sure of playing the main phase of the 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix. Contributing 21 points to the scoreboard the German captain, Angelina Grün, was also the best scorer in the match against Romania, with the German middle blocker, Olessya Kulakova making 11 points. In an earlier Wednesday action, Poland booked their first victory of the event here in the Turkish capital. The European Champion, who surprisingly lost their opening match to the Netherlands, defeated Romania in three straight sets. The Romanian team had replaced Olympic silver medalist Russia at a very late stage due to a decision by the FIVB to exclude the Russian team. Polish coach Andrej Niemczyk played his first team against Romania, including European player of the year in 2003 Malgorzata Glinka. Despite Glinka making 13 points during the match, it was Captain Aleksandra Przybysz who was the best scorer with 15 points.
Six European women’s top teams are fighting for three spots in the 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix in the Turkish capital Ankara this week. Italy is already qualified for the main phase of this major women’s volleyball competition as the organizer of the final next year, whilst Russia was recently excluded by the FIVB to participate in the qualification event. Only the three best teams of the tournament here in Ankara will earn a ticket for the 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix. Action here at the 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix European Qualification Tournament continues on Thursday, when three more matches are scheduled.

2005 FIVB World Grand Prix European Qualification Tournament Ankara, Turkey

Results 22 September
POL - ROM     3-0     25-18, 25-14, 25-17
GER - BUL     3-0     25-20, 25-19, 25-17
NED - TUR     3-0     25-17, 25-18, 25-23

Ranking:
1. GER 2-4 (6-0)     2. NED 2-4 (6-1)     3. POL 2-3 (4-3)     4. TUR 2-3 (3-3)     5. BUL 2-2 (0-6)     6. ROM 2-2 (0-6)

Match schedule 23 September (all times are local: CET +1)
1400 BUL - POL
1600 ROM - NED
1830 TUR - GER

Please visit www.voleybol.org.tr/WGP.2005/WGP.EQ.RESULTS.htm for live scores and statistics.

Confédération Européenne de Volleyball

GERMANY AND NETHERLANDS HOLD UNDEFEATED STATUS

European Qualification Tournament for 2005 FIVB Grand Prix