Qualifications for the European Championship 2011

    I see that croatian Marina Miletic is veru good pointer. In which club she played this season? Info about Her?

    Quote from Bartek

    I see that croatian Marina Miletic is veru good pointer. In which club she played this season? Info about Her?


    I am also suprised with her, this season she played in Panionios, in EC she played as libero, but her real position is OH.

    Where can I find statistics of Azerbaijan-Georgia match?

    Look,today played Azeri Lo Bianco :) Natavan Gasimova. Just amazing game from her!
    Kseniya Kovalenko 5 blocks and 13 points 73%. Quite nice!
    Natalya Mammadova receiving: 10 receptions 70 % 50 %

    Bulgaria beat Finland 3:0 with strong block and attack, Zetova with 18 pts, Yaneva without error - http://www.cev.lu/mmp-cgi/show…ate=p_prj_game_stat&key=0


    Romania stuns Belgium in Hasselt on second day of European qualifiers


    Luxembourg, May 22, 2010. The series of second round qualifiers being currently played for the 2011 CEV Women’s European Championship continued on Saturday afternoon with the pre-favorite teams unleashing additional victories and a first scenario to be defined only after some decisive matches being on schedule for Sunday. Croatia delighted the home fans in Osijek with a clear victory against Spain in what was expected to be the real highlight of the second competition day. In Hasselt Romania shocked the Belgian audience and Volleyball family scoring a 3:0 victory with quite embarrassing scores in the first couple of sets.


    Pool A in Mogilev (BLR)


    Georgia vs. Azerbaijan 0:3 (9-25, 12-25, 8-25)
    Belarus vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina 3:0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-14)


    The home team of Belarus clipped this afternoon in Mogilev a second win in the European qualifier – Pool A. The Belarusian girls easily controlled the operations in the first two sets of their game against Bosnia & Herzegovina, stamping a stellar 10:0 break in the opening of the second section of that match. The tone did not change also in the third set, with Belarus leading the way 8:2 at the first technical time-out and closing rapidly for the second 3:0 in two days. In the other match of the day Azerbaijan outclassed Georgia also in three sets. On the final competition day in Mogilev the game between Belarus and Azerbaijan will define the provisional leader of Pool A waiting for the second round robin scheduled for next week in Baku.


    Pool B in Karlovy Vary (CZE)


    Austria vs. France 0:3 (18-25, 17-25, 19-25)
    Czech Republic vs. Hungary 3:1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20)


    The Czech national team lost the first set in Pool B against Hungary (18-25). In the second set the hosts hit stride both in blocking and attacking. They outclassed the Hungarians 25-15. Back to the court in the 3rd set, the Czechs leashed the counterattacks at the net and varied the game in attack. The Czech girls were keeping a comfortable lead by 5-6 points up to the final 25-19. The final set meant a Hungarian score chase up to 20-25. Thanks to a more effective play the Czechs won 3:1. Czech coach Jiří Šiller commented on the performance: “Before this match, we had quite a respect resulting from the Hungarian performance against France. We know Hungarian girls play in European Leagues. So we had prepared more carefully. As a result of the nervous start, we lost the first set. Then, we got back to our game”. Hungarian coach Mihály Farkas added: “In the past everybody claimed they could beat us 3:0. Nowadays they have a reason to be worried. We have changed the system and players. Nobody can say the Hungarian team is bad. Our team is young with the average age of 20. Our chances are in the future”. Czech captain Ivana Plchotova: “After yesterday’s performance of Hungary against France we were not sure to win. We were anxious and nervous. At the end of the 1st set we completed a good block and a good attack which are our strength. The reason why we succeeded in turning the score around was our enthusiasm. We were able to improve everything and our opponents helped us with their errors”. Hungarian captain Beatrix Meléndez-Pál: “It was a very tough match. We played the Czechs a year ago and they were tall and strong. We made mistakes in defense and tactics and they were simply better than us. We still have a chance to change the result in France”.
    Three sets with clear winning scores (25:18, 25:17 and 25:19) demonstrate a standard performance of France against Austria. The two teams, however, showed a major difference in spirit and play. The experienced French patiently set the pace of the game aware of their duty to win. The Austrian ladies, on the other hand, enjoyed the match thoroughly supported by the singing substitutes’ bench. Flexible and self-sacrificing on court, they kept track all the time. The major highlight of Pool B in Karlovy Vary is coming tomorrow starring today’s winners: France and the Czech Republic at 5 p.m. The final points will be allotted in the match between Austria and Hungary from 8 p.m. on Sunday. Austrian coach Li Qing said: “We have a small team, meaning small in growth. We try to play the best we can. We were nervous yesterday. Today I cannot complain. The players were fighting for each single ball”. French coach Fabrice Vial: “It is difficult to play with such a team. The Austrians are not a classical Volleyball team. Definitely we must concentrate on tomorrow’s match against the Czech Republic. Then, there are three more qualifying matches in France.”



    Source: CEV

    "Lo sbaglio più grande e quello di credere di aver vinto prima ancora di giocare la partita"

    Pool C in Severodonetsk (UKR)


    Great Britain vs. Slovakia 0:3 (19-25, 27-29, 17-25)
    Ukraine vs. Israel 3:1 (25-18, 25-13, 18-25, 25-18)


    Pool D in Osijek (CRO)


    Switzerland vs. Montenegro 3:0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23)
    Croatia vs. Spain 3:0 (25-21, 25-17,25-15)


    As it was expected the match between Croatia and Spain provided some great Volleyball this afternoon in Osijek and probably decided who will leave for Spain next week as the group leader. The home team was really motivated by the home crowd that seemed to give them more power in their attempt to make it to the top of the group. And they did what they planned to do. After only 75 minutes the home team got some important points beating Spain 25-21, 25-17 and 25-15. Everything went better for the home team than anyone expected. They started with comfortable lead (3:0) and had four points of advantage at the first technical time-out. But soon after that the Spanish team made an 8:0 break with really good serving by Patricia Aranda, and came to the front (11:15). But the Croatian girls answered really soon with a 12:2 series for the provisional 23:17. Finally they ended the first set with four points of margin at 25-21. The home team had a similar start in the second set, but avoided having the same troubles. They held a five to six point lead through the whole set, mostly because captain Maja Poljak (14 points during this game) did an excellent job on the net, along with the good serving by most of the players and great support by Katarina Barun (15 points). Croatia won the second set with a comfortable 25-17. In the third set there was only one team on court – Croatia. Again they gained an early lead of three points, making the margin bigger every minute. At last they finished the final set with a big difference of 10 points, 25-15. The Croatian coach was really satisfied after the game: “We played excellent today; the players did everything they knew they had to do. They have shown everyone what potential lies in this team, but there are still some things to do in these qualifiers. We still have to play against Montenegro tomorrow, and there’s, of course, another tournament next week in Spain. There’s still a lot to do” said Miroslav Aksentijevic. Croatian captain Maja Poljak added: “We were playing really good today, exactly as we had to. This is a very important win for us in our attempt to play in the European Championship”.
    Spanish coach Gido Vermuelen pointed that he still hopes his team will make it to final round of the 2011 European Championship: “Nothing is lost yet. My plan is to get a place for the European Championship. If we have to play more games in September it will be good to have the team together for a couple of days again”.
    The second game of the day brought the first victory for the Swiss team. They beat Montenegro 3:0 (25-20, 25-21 and 25-23) but with much more difficulties than expected. Nevertheless Switzerland won the planned points, even though their play was not that good as it was in the first match against Croatia. Swiss team captain and best player of the game Mandy Wigger (19 points) was happy that they won their first points in the tournament: “Before we came to Osijek we didn’t expect that we could win a game. But when we saw the match starring Montenegro and Spain, we said “let’s try”. So, we took our chance against Montenegro. Tomorrow we play against Spain. We will try to finish this weekend as good as we can”. Montenegrin coach Vladimir Rackovic was rather unhappy after the game: “I was hoping to get two wins from these two tournaments. When we started preparing we didn’t know whether our opponent would have been Switzerland or Luxembourg. We had some troubles with injured players, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for this defeat. Tomorrow we have to play against the home team, and I’m aware that there’s no chance at all for us in that game. However, we’ll try to play at our best to get the moral up after this defeat”.


    Pool E in Hasselt (BEL)


    Belgium vs. Romania 0:3 (8-25, 10-25, 23-25)
    Sweden vs. Slovenia


    Romania totally outclassed Belgium in Hasselt for the second competition day of Pool E. The first couple of sets were a real catastrophe for the Belgians who could not resist to their opponents. The blocks of Nucu, Corjeutanu and the attacks of Onyejekwe were too strong for a weak Belgian team. Even a time out asked by Belgian coach Vande Broek at 2:6 and 2:11 in the first set couldn’t change the negative trend before the set ended at 25-8. The same problems in reception affected the Belgian team also in the second set and the Romanian block stood out like a wall. Nucu & Co. shocked the Belgians with another massive 25-10. With Van Damme and Heyrman on court the locals tried to find a solution to their problems. Those two players obliged the Romanian coach to ask for a quick time-out at 4:1. But Heyrman, helped by Aelbrecht and Vindevoghel, extended the lead to 12:5 for the hosts. It was not enough since the Romanian girls came back with all their spirits in the so-called money time. Van Damme tried to save the set until a tie at 23, but Nedelcu and Neaga decided it would be a 0:3. “Two perfect sets” admitted an exhausted Romanian coach Darko Zakoc. “Service and block were superb today and after the easy win in the first two sets there was a little lack of concentration. But I have to congratulate the Belgian team for their courageous play in the third set. Before the tournament we taught they were the favorites due to their higher international ranking. So we are very happy with this result”. “The Romanian team was too strong today. As you can see from the statistics, Belgium had only 28% in attack and Romania 58%. The key for our team was to pass the block. But even if we succeeded in that option, there was still a very good defense. This is a very strong team, powerful, tall, clever and experienced. It was nice we came back in the third set, so that must give us some hope for the match against Slovenia on Sunday” concluded Belgian coach Gert Vande Broek.


    Pool F in Guarda (POR)


    Finland vs. Bulgaria 0:3 (17-25, 15-25, 22-25)
    Portugal vs. Greece 0:3 (16-25, 16-25, 18-25)


    Bulgaria won today against Finland with a 3:0 and practically secured the first place in Pool F. Finland was able to balance the match in the first points of the initial set but, gradually, the players of coach Dragan Nesic made value of their superiority, mainly in the offensive game and high defense, reaching the second mandatory stop with a significant advantage. It seemed that the match could only have one course, with Finland reacting and approaching even tough it wasn’t enough. Zetova led the way to the victory scoring the 20:14 and Bulgaria closed the set with a 25-17. In the following set the tendency was maintained. Bulgaria took advantage of a certain disorientation of their opponents and with Zarkova serving went from 11:7 to 15:7, opening the way to a new triumph that was sealed with a spike from Zarkova (25-15). The third set was tight. The victory was always closer to the Nordic side (8:3, 16:11) but the extraordinary Bulgarians were the stars of the turnover in the score decreasing to the minimum gap a 4-pts disadvantage. The tie appeared at 19 and from then to the final score of 25-22, it was only a few steps more. Dragan Nesic, Bulgaria’s head coach, mentioned that the team played very well against Finland that according to his words “is a very good team, especially their captain [Riikka Lehtonen] that is a high level player. We had a very effective service and block”.


    Source: CEV

    "Lo sbaglio più grande e quello di credere di aver vinto prima ancora di giocare la partita"

    Azerbaijan-Belarus 3-0 (16:25, 20:25, 13:25)


    Natalya Mammadova 22 points 1 block 21 attack and 70% effect in attack!
    Polina Rahimova 18 points 3 blocks 5 aces and 10 attacks effect 56%! Polina is just amazing. In 3 matches 18 aces!!! Wow!

    Quote from SHABOVTA

    Azerbaijan-Belarus 3-0 (16:25, 20:25, 13:25)


    Natalya Mammadova 22 points 1 block 21 attack and 70% effect in attack!
    Polina Rahimova 18 points 3 blocks 5 aces and 10 attacks effect 56%! Polina is just amazing. In 3 matches 18 aces!!! Wow!


    But Mammadova was bad in reception, it is true she didn't do direct mistakes but excellent is not good.
    Anyway, it is good her reception doesn't affect her attacak!
    So happy for Polina again, she is great! :thumbup:

    Bulgaria defeated Portugal 3:0 ( 75:38 ) without the big guns Zetova and Vasileva. Strashimira Filipova MVP :obey:
    - http://www.cev.lu/mmp-cgi/show…ate=p_prj_game_stat&key=0

    Quote from SHABOVTA

    Aman ALLAH! Azerbaijan is playing so wonderful against Belarus. I can not believe my eyes!!!


    you cant believe your eyes :):):):) cos they are only belarus. :super: :win:
    :dance6: :dance6:

    Quote from arkas35


    you cant believe your eyes :):):):) cos they are only belarus. :super: :win:
    :dance6: :dance6:


    Oh,my old friend! This is that Belarus which last year in the same Mogilev defeated your team 3-0.
    Let`s not talk about it,ok? I am not interested in it at all!And I don`t understand why do you feel so jealous for it! I don`t wanna continiue this talking!

    I've just watched Czech Rep. x France.
    Wow! Havlicková rocks! Very agressive and efficient player - 32 points. I'm fallen in love with her! Lol.
    I guess Czechs found their good game with this new coach. Congratulations!

    And in Czeck team is still missing Matuszkova...I hope she come back for the team, maybe she can play as OH...would be amazing team. I'm happy for them! I like this team, I think is a young and very promissing one...I like Havelkova, and Havlickova. Havlickova did very well in Italian league as well, and now she is wanted by many teams.


    I'm also happy for Croatia of course, my favorite team in competition!\o/ Anyone knows if Usic and Ikic will be able to play next weekend?


    And also for Bulgaria, love Vasileva (Cant wait to see her in Foppa! :) ), and Azerbaijan cause of Makisemenko! :)

    European qualifiers come to a close, real fights expected next weekend with second series of Pool tournaments



    Luxembourg, May 23, 2010. The first series of European qualifiers for the 2011 CEV Women’s European Championship came to a close this afternoon with Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria topping the provisional standings of their respective Pools. The return tournaments scheduled for next week will feature a very tough competition especially in Pool B and D, with France and Spain respectively trying to use their home advantage to bounce back to the top of the charts. After a shocking 0:3 defeat against Romania, Belgium was back on track and successfully went through a thrilling five setter against a young and promising Slovenian team.


    Pool A in Mogilev (BLR)


    Georgia vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina 0:3 (11-25, 13-25, 18-25)
    Azerbaijan vs. Belarus 3:0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-13)


    Pool B in Karlovy Vary (CZE)


    Hungary vs. Austria 3:0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20)
    France vs. Czech Republic 2:3 (20-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-13, 11-15)


    Pool C in Severodonetsk (UKR)


    Israel vs. Great Britain 3:0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-22)
    Slovakia vs. Ukraine 1:3 (20-25, 14-25, 27-25, 19-25)


    Pool D in Osijek (CRO)


    Switzerland vs. Spain 0:3 (23-25, 18-25, 20-25)
    Montenegro vs. Croatia 0:3 (19-25, 17-25, 10-25)


    Pool E in Hasselt (BEL)


    Slovenia vs. Belgium 2:3 (21-25, 16-25, 25-14, 25-21, 12-15)
    Sweden vs. Romania 1:3 (14-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-25)


    Pool F in Guarda (POR)


    Greece vs. Finland 0:3 (23-25, 22-25, 22-25)
    Portugal vs. Bulgaria 0:3 (13-25, 18-25, 7-25)



    Source: CEV

    "Lo sbaglio più grande e quello di credere di aver vinto prima ancora di giocare la partita"