ITALY ENTERS DAY FOUR NOT HAVING LOST ONE SET YET

Women's Indesit European Championship 2005

Zagreb/Pula, Croatia, September 19, 2005. On the third day of competition in the Preliminary Pool round of the Women’s Indesit European Championship 2005 in Zagreb and Pula (CRO) Serbia & Montenegro beat Romania 3:2, Azerbaijan kept the upper hand against Germany 3:0 and host Croatia was defeated 1:3 by defending champion Poland, whilst in Pool II in Pula Bulgaria stormed over Spain in straight sets, Italy defeated Turkey 3:0 and Russia defeated the Netherlands 3:2, coming back from two sets down.

The match between Serbia & Montenegro and Romania in Preliminary Pool I in Zagreb (CRO) was marked by highs and lows of both teams. Whilst the Serbia Montenegrins stormed into the match leaving the Romanians speechless (25-15), they broke down during the second set, similar to yesterday’s match against Croatia (19-25). The third set was again pretty clear in favour of Serbia & Montenegro (25-14) before Romania seized the first set point at the end of the fourth set (22-24). Although Romania allowed their opponents to come back (24-24), Mirela Corjeutanu finally closed the set in Romanian favour (26-24). The tiebreak remained tight (9-9), but at the end Ivana Djerisilo scored twice (one spike, one serve), Vesna Citakovic blocked with success (12-14) and finally Anja Spasojevic attacked her team to victory (13-15).
Best scorer was Ivana Djerisilo (SCG) with 22 points followed by Romanian Mirela Corjeutanu (18 points).
“We should have won after winning the first set”, stated Serbia & Montenegro’s team captain Vesna Citakovic, “but same as yesterday we entered the second set too relaxed. However, the important thing is that we won.” “We played similar to yesterday”, added head coach Zoran Terzic, “Whenever the opponent is in the lead, we play worse than when we are leading. My team is known to play better against higher ranked opponents.” “I don’t think that there is a big difference between the two teams”, commented Romanian head coach Florin Grapa, “But at the end our opponents seized the more important points.”

 
Germany and Azerbaijan entered Zagreb’s “Dom Sportova” next, both teams knowing about the importance of this match, thus showing expected nervousness. Whilst the first set was hard-fought with Azerbaijan changing sides as the winner (26-24), the second and third set were clearly dominated by the girls from the Far East who managed to keep their unnecessary mistakes from the first set under control. Missing the euphoria from yesterday’s match against Poland, which the Germans lost in a tight tiebreak, the team coached by Korean Hee Wan Lee were unable to stand the same strong resistance against Azerbaijan, finally losing in straight sets.
Best scorer was Natalya Mammadova (AZE) with 18 points followed by team mate Yelena Shabovta (12 points) as well as German team captain Angelina Grün (12 points).
“We only had a real chance of winning the first set”, stated German team captain Angelina Grün, “after that Azerbaijan accelerated and we were no longer able to keep the pace. However, after tomorrow’s day of rest we’re hoping to mobilise all forces again for the last two matches.” “You could tell that my team hasn’t got the potential to continue playing on a high level three consecutive days”, explained German head coach Hee Wan Lee the situation.
The winning team captain Alla Hasanova said that although the German team were highly motivated to win this match, they were able to keep focused on their winning their strategy which finally brought them the 3:0 victory. “Although we started off a little nervous as we knew how important this match was, the players fulfilled the expectations of the coach”, realised Azerbaijan assistant coach Aleksandr Chervyakov.

Winning the first set 25-16, the Poles trailed behind during the second set (13-15) but managed to win three points in a row (18-15), carrying the small lead up until the finish of the set (25-21). Croatia didn’t want to disappoint the thousands of fans supporting the team coached by Ivica Jelic, capturing the third set to make it 1:2. Nevertheless, defending champion Poland never relinquished their lead during the fourth set, finally seizing a 3:1 victory.
Best scorer was local team captain Barbara Ruzic with 38 points (!), whilst Malgorzata Glinka booked 20 points for the Polish team.
“We had many problems with our reception and we didn’t manage to find a way past the solid Polish block”, commented Barbara Ruzic after the match, “However, I think that we demonstrated a good game against the 2003 European champion.” “Poland were very organised in every aspect of the game, which was the key to their success. Although my players tried to give their best shot, it didn’t work all the time. Concentration was fading in phases.” “I don’t agree that our block was good today, as we allowed Croatian spiker Barbara Ruzic to score nearly every time”, answered Polish head coach Andrzej Niemczyk, “Also, one of our players, whom I don’t want to name, gave a lot of points away.”

In Preliminary Pool II in Pula the Bulgarian team succeeded to win against a weak and exhausted Spanish squad in straight sets. Spain began to play very disorganised trailing behind the entire first set (22-25). Bulgaria on the other hand perform very concentrated knowing that they can't afford to lose again after the previous day's defeat against Italy. Antonina Zetova virtually destroyed the Spanish defense in the second set with Spain experiencing a break down (25-12). At 2:0 for the Bulgarian girls, the Spanish team still didn't give up. Leading 22-18 they couldn't bring up the necessary energy to terminate the set, so that the Bulgarians finally win 25-23.
Bulgarian head coach Miroslav Zhivkov is finally satisfied with his team's performance, stating: ''I was afraid before the match that Spain would show the good volleyball as in their first two games against Russia and Italy. I think that we won mainly because we stopped Spain's main spikers Elena Garcia Marquez and Ramos Hernandez. Our group is very strong and my girls should know this and give 100% in each match in order to win.''
Best scorer was Bulgarian Antonina Zetova with 23 points, whilst Elena Garcia Marquez scored 15 points for the Spanish team.
Spanish head coach Aurelio Urena Espa commented: ''The Bulgarians played very well today and we lost concentration. I hope we have learnt a lesson. We must learn to stay calm at the end of the set.'' The team's captain Arkia El-Ammari Alonso added: ''We made too many mistakes and weren't enough concenatrated. It is impossible to win like that in this championship!''

The Turkish team started pretty convincing against Italy with setter Urcu Bahar being unstoppable in the combination with spiker Aysun Ozbek. At 18-18 the Italian girls won the important points however, finishing the set 25-21. Turkey didn't give up though playing concentrated, but the Azzuri managed to take the lead and win (25-21).The last set was pretty straightforward with Serena Ortolani and Sara Anzanello killing the balls.
Best scorers were Serena Ortolani (ITA) and Natalia Hanikoglu (TUR) with 14 points each.
The Turkish head coach congratulated the Italian team at the following press conference: '' This is a very difficult situation for us. We made a lot of mistakes in all three games. We will most probably not be going to Zagreb for the Final Four so good luck to the Italians.
Marco Bonitta, Italian head coach, commented: ''This victory is important as much as those against Bulgary and Spain. I'm satisfied with my team's performance, overall, but there is still room for improvement, especially at the beginning of sets. We are now going to rest for half of the day and then get ready for the Dutch.''

The Dutch surprised the Russians in the final Monday match in Pula taking the first two sets thanks to clever tactical play and setter Riete Fledderus tricking the Russian block several times. But the Russians captured the third set showing more concentration and a more powerful game. Although Russia was trailing from the beginning of the fourth set, they managed to level at 22-22, 23-23. Although the Dutch had two match points, the Russians finally managed to win the set 28-26, and then continued leading up until the final 3:2 victory.
Best scorer was Russian Elena Godina with 23 points, whilst Manon Flier booked 22 points for the Dutch team.
Dutch head coach Avital Selinger commented the defeat: ''It was a very tight fight. We played well but there is always only one winner. This time it was Russia!"
From the other bench, Russian coach, Giovanni Caprara commented:'' It was a terrific match! The Netherlands played the first set like the men's Brazilian team not making any mistakes at all. We had problems in receiving and we couldn't organise a good attack. Finally, in the third set we improved in receiving and managed to construct our game better. I think this tournament is not fair, there should at least be three teams that continue to the second round. The Dutch team definitely deserved to procede in this championship.''

The 12 teams in Zagreb and Pula will have a day of rest on Tuesday before the deciding pool matches will continue on Wednesday and Thursday. There will be no matches on Friday previous to the Final Four weekend in Zagreb from 24th to 25th September 2005.

 

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	3:1	26-24, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19
18.09.2005	18.00	SCG - CRO	1:3	25-16, 19-25, 23-25, 16-25
18.09.2005	20.30	POL - GER	3:2	25-22, 23-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-13
19.09.2005	15.30	ROM - SCG	2:3	15-25, 25-19, 14-25, 26-24, 13-15
19.09.2005	18.00	GER - AZE	0:3	24-26, 14-25, 21-25
19.09.2005	20.30	CRO - POL	1:3	16-25, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25
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

1. Poland 6 (9:3), 2. Azerbaijan 5 (6:4), 3. Serbia & Montenegro 5 (7:6), 4. Romania 4 (6:7), 5. Croatia 4 (5:7), 6. Germany 3 (3:8)

 

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	0:3	23-25, 14-25, 20-25
18.09.2005	18.00	RUS - ESP	3:1	25-11, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18
18.09.2005	20.30	TUR - NED	1:3	22-25, 30-28, 21-25, 23-25
19.09.2005	15.30	ESP - BUL	0:3	22-25, 12-25, 23-25
19.09.2005	18.00	ITA - TUR	3:0	25-21, 25-21, 25-20
19.09.2005	20.30	NED - RUS	2:3	25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 26-28, 9-15
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

1. Italy 6 (9:0), 2. Russia 6 (9:3), 3. Bulgaria 5 (6:5), 4. Netherlands 4 (7:7), 5. Turkey 3 (1:9), 6. Spain 3 (1:9)

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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