BULGARIA SURPRISES THE NETHERLANDS, POLAND EARNS 3:0 VICTORY OVER AZERBAIJAN

Women's Indesit European Championship 2005

Zagreb/Pula, Croatia, September 17, 2005. After the first round of Preliminary Pool play in the Women’s Indesit European Championship 2005 defending champion Poland has experienced an ideal start into the competition beating Azerbaijan in straight sets in Preliminary Pool I, whilst Romania and Serbia & Montenegro booked 3:1 victories over host Croatia respectively Germany. In Preliminary Pool II Bulgaria surprisingly defeated the Netherlands in a tiebreak set, whilst favourites Italy and Russia won their first match in straight sets against Spain respectively Turkey. 
 

Hosting team Croatia started off Preliminary Pool I of the Indesit European Championship 2005 in Zagreb facing Romania. Both teams needed some time to get into the match with the first set being very fluctuant. Although Romania took a first six-point lead, Croatia managed to step back scoring mainly on block, the strength of Maja Poljak. At 18-19 and after time-out Romania won five points in a row (18-24) but didn’t manage to finish the set with Croatia coming back strong (24-24). The last two points however were won by Romanian captain Carmen Alida Marcovici on attack and Mihaela Truta on block (24-26). The second set which was marked by many unforced errors on both sides was also won by Romania who took a 2:0 set lead (18-25). Leading by a few points (13-15, 14-16) during the third set it looked as if the guest team were heading to a straight set defeat, but Croatia under the impulse of team captain Barbara Ruzic and Maja Poljak scored a series of points, finally winning their first set 25-20. Ruzic alone scored ten points in this set, whilst Poljak blocked three times with success.
Best scorer of the match was Barbara Ruzic with 30 points, whilst Romanian team captain Carmen Alida Marcovici scored 17 points for her team.
“As expected our preparation wasn’t sufficient in order to achieve a good result from this match”, commented Croatian head coach Ivica Jelic after the match, “Further there was a lot of pressure for us playing at home and the first match is always one of the most difficult ones. We tried to turn the score around after the third set but unfortunately luck was not on our side. We now have to get back on track and overcome our nervousness in the subsequent matches.” Croatian team captain Barbara Ruzic added that it was their own fault that they lost, as they didn’t manage to impose their own rhythm, thus not being able to take advantage of their lead.
“Croatia have the better individual players and the public encouraged them a lot but both teams had equal chances of winning”, stated Romanian head coach Florin Grapa. Team captain Carmen Alida Marcovici congratulated the opponent team for their fighting spirit: “We were very nervous and had to concentrate especially on serve and reception. My team showed immense team spirit though.”

Following one minute of silence in tribute of Polish men’s national team player Arkadiusz Golas, who died in a tragic car accident the previous day, defending champion Poland faced the challenging task of competing against Azerbaijan, the team that won the European Qualification Tournament for the FIVB World Grand Prix 2006 earlier this year beating Bulgaria, Germany and Russia on their way, in the first match of the most important European national team event. The number nine of the world ranking however stormed through the match showing no respect of their opponent from the Far East of Europe. Following the surprising 3:0 victory Polish team captain Aleksandra Przybysz dedicated the victory to Arkadiusz Golas. Dominating in all aspects of the game, especially on serve and block, the Poles also profited from the several unnecessary errors in the Azerbaijan game. Although the final set ended close (22-22), the Poles managed to avoid a fourth set by seizing the important last points (25-23).
Best scorer of the match was Malgorzata Glinka with 17 points followed by team colleague Dorota Swieniewicz who booked 14 points. Natalya Mammadova scored most points for Azerbaijan (14 points).
“We simply made too many errors and basically lost because of that”, stated Azerbaijan assistant coach Aleksandr Chervyakov. “The next matches will have to be much more coordinated if we want to stand a chance of qualifying”, added team captain Alla Hasanova.

In the final encounter of the day in Zagreb Serbia & Montenegro defeated Germany 3:1. Sharing the first two sets the Serbia Montenegrins seized the deciding 2:1 lead to finally take off at 9-9 in the fourth set (14-24). Although the Germans managed to defend two match points (16-24), Ivana Djerisilo decided the match in Serbia Montenegro’s favour with a successful attack.
“We are not really satisfied”, stated German team captain Angelina Grün, “Although we played well in phases, we didn’t manage to play at a constant high level which is vital to win such matches. Further, we didn’t manage to finish our attacks successfully and to kill the ball. But we won’t give up and we know that we stand a chance against Poland in our next encounter if we stay steady and don’t collapse.”
Best scorer was Ivana Djerisilo with 22 points followed by team mates Anja Spasojevic (18 points) and Jelena Nikolic (16 points). Best German scorer was Angelina Grün with 12 points.
German team captain Hee Wan Lee also emphasised the ups and downs of his team’s performance commenting that the game of the Serbia Montenegrins is much more varied. Although Serbia & Montenegro won, they weren’t 100% content with their performance with team captain Vesna Citakovic stating that they are able to play much better, as they seemed pretty stiff and insecure today, and head coach Zoran Terzic explaining that their reception wasn’t constant enough. “Serving and blocking characteristic for our game, which worked quite well today”, he added, “The Germans’ weapon, namely the attack, didn’t work for them, as they didn’t find a way past our block.”

The first match in Preliminary Pool II in Pula between the Netherlands and Bulgaria was already hard fought. Although the Dutch took the first set 25-17, the Bulgarians turned the tables to win the next two sets (18-25, 22-25). The team coached by Avital Selinger didn’t give up though forcing the Eastern Europeans to a tiebreak set which was finally captured by Bulgaria with a tight 16-14.
Best scorer was Antonina Zetova from Bulgaria with 29 points followed by Dutch Chaine Staelens, Manon Flier and Dutch team captain Ingrid Visser (all 18 points).
In the press conference after the match Bulgarian head coach Miroslav Zhivkov was very satisfied, not only with the result but also with his team's performance: “Both teams could have won but we had more luck and confidence in ourselves at the end and we never gave up'', he said. Ducth head coach Avital Selinger congratulated the Bulgarian team on a good match stating that they had more motivation to win. However, he couldn't hide his disappointment because Netherlands was the favourite of this match, expected by everyone to win. Bulgarian captain Lyubka Debarlieva was very excited by her team's victory congratulating all players: “It was a team victory!“

Following the unexpected Bulgarian victory over the Netherlands, Italy went on beating Spain in straight sets. Winning the first set consequently (25-21) the Italians captured the second set in a more dramatic manner (29-27). However, this was the only part of the match where the Italians were put under serious pressure by their opponent, hence they seized the third and final set with few problems (25-21).
Best scorer of the match was Italian Elisa Togut with 22 points.
Marco Bonitta, the Italian head coach, stated at the press conference: “I was very surprised with the Spanish game. They had a very strong defense, surprising our team in the second set, so you should never underestimate a team on this Championship at any moment and you have to stay concentrated until the final whistle. We have injury problems with Antonella Del Core who feels a pain in her leg but hopefully she is going to get better and be ready for the next matches. She was replaced by Serena Ortolani, a very young player whose time is yet to come, but who presented our team with several crucial points.''
Spanish head coach Aurelio Urena Espa was very proud of his team who gave their best, but as everyone knows: “Italy is the better team. They are able to attack really fast so that it’s difficult to block them on the net. They deserved the victory.'' Spanish captain Arkia El-Ammari Alonso was also satisfied the way her team performed against Italy: ''We remained focused throughout the whole match no matter on who opposed us.”

Russia finished the first match day in Pula by beating Turkey, the 2003 silver medallist, in straight sets, experiencing difficulties during the first and second set which finished tight. Although the Turks put their best effort into every single point, the Russian ''wall'' was simply too high to be bale to attack with success. The Turkish defense did a great job though. Pula's audience was very content after the first day, witnessing excellent volleyball and top European volleyball players in good shape.
As the Turkish team didn't appear to the press conference, it had to take place with only the head coach and team captain of the Russian team. Giovanni Caprara, head coach of the Russian team, stated: ''Turkey played really well against us as we expected. We need to work more on our block. I'm satisfied with the efficiency in attack, especially Ekaterina Gamova killed many balls. We are looking forward to the next matches.''
Best scorer of the match was Ekaterina Gamova with 22 points.

Women’s Indesit European Championship 2005
Preliminary Pool Round in Zagreb and Pula, Croatia (all times CET)

Match Results and Schedule

Preliminary Pool I in Zagreb (CRO)

17.09.2005	15.30	CRO - ROM	1:3	24-26, 18-25, 25-20, 25-27
17.09.2005	18.00	POL - AZE	3:0	26-24, 25-20, 25-23
17.09.2005	20.30	GER - SCG	1:3	22-25, 25-17, 13-25, 16-25
18.09.2005	15.30	AZE - ROM
18.09.2005	18.00	SCG - CRO
18.09.2005	20.30	POL - GER
19.09.2005	15.30	ROM - SCG
19.09.2005	18.00	GER - AZE
19.09.2005	20.30	CRO - POL
20.09.2005	REST DAY
21.09.2005	15.30	AZE - SCG
21.09.2005	18.00	POL - ROM
21.09.2005	20.30	GER - CRO
22.09.2005	15.30	SCG - POL
22.09.2005	18.00	ROM - GER
22.09.2005	20.30	CRO - AZE

 

Preliminary Pool I Ranking

Poland 2 (3:0), Serbia & Montenegro 2 (3:1), Romania 2 (3:1), Croatia 1 (1:3), Germany 1 (1:3), Azerbaijan 1 (0:3)

 

Preliminary Pool II in Pula (CRO)

17.09.2005	15.30	NED - BUL	2:3	25-17, 18-25, 22-25, 25-17, 14-16
17.09.2005	18.00	ITA - ESP	3:0	25-21, 29-27, 25-21
17.09.2005	20.30	TUR - RUS	0:3	23-25, 24-26, 20-25
18.09.2005	15.30	BUL - ITA
18.09.2005	18.00	RUS - ESP
18.09.2005	20.30	TUR - NED
19.09.2005	15.30	ESP - BUL
19.09.2005	18.00	ITA - TUR
19.09.2005	20.30	NED - RUS
20.09.2005	REST DAY
21.09.2005	15.30	TUR - ESP
21.09.2005	18.00	NED - ITA
21.09.2005	20.30	RUS - BUL
22.09.2005	15.30	ESP - NED
22.09.2005	18.00	ITA - RUS
22.09.2005	20.30	BUL - TUR

Preliminary Pool II Ranking

Italy 2 (3:0), Russia 2 (3:0), Bulgaria 2 (3:2), Netherlands 1 (2:3), Turkey 1 (0:3), Spain 1 (0:3)

Final Four in Zagreb (CRO)

24.09.2005	12.00	Semifinal for 5-8	Match D: 4th Pool I vs. 3rd Pool II
24.09.2005	14.00	Semifinal for 5-8	Match C: 3rd Pool I vs. 4th Pool II
24.09.2005	16.30	Semifinal for 1-4	Match A: 1st Pool I vs. 2nd Pool II
24.09.2005	19.00	Semifinal for 1-4	Match B: 2nd Pool I vs. 1st Pool II
25.09.2005	12.00	Classification 7-8	Loser C vs. Loser D
25.09.2005	14.00	Classification 5-6	Winner C vs. Winner D
25.09.2005	16.30	Bronze Medal Match	Loser A vs. Loser B
25.09.2005	19.00	Final	Winner A vs. Winner B

 

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