Out of the six matches contested on Wednesday at #EuroVolleyU16W in Nyiregyhaza and Humenné, as many as five resulted in 3-0 victories – while Bulgaria needed five sets to edge Croatia and remain in contention for a spot in the semis from Pool II where they share the same win-loss record (3-1) of Italy and Serbia. Iva Dudova registered a terrific tally of 46 points for Bulgaria in their hard-fought victory over Croatia. In Pool I, Russia lead the way with a perfect record of four wins in as many matches followed by Turkey on three victories.
Italy made a huge step towards the semi-final stage with their victory over Romania in straight sets (25-13, 27-25, 25-8). The young Romanians fought hard for success in the second set, but in the end, the Italians emerged victorious. Middle blockers played an important role in the Italian success – Linda Manfredini scored 14 points, while Maia Carlotta Monaco contributed with as many as eight blocks.
Italy strike a happy pose after their 3-0 victory over Romania
“In the previous matches we started a bit slow, we wanted to change this, we worked hard on it, we did better today and we had the match under control. In the second set, we delivered a good performance to win by two points and then we had no problems to finish the match in three sets. Now we have a very important match tomorrow against Croatia; if we win, we will progress to the semis. Croatia play good and combative volleyball and we have to do our best to be successful.”
Pasquale D’Aniello
Head coach of Italy
In the second match of the day, Serbia and Slovakia played against each other for their hope to reach the semis to stay alive. Serbia started very well with perfect serve and attack play and turned the match into a one-sided contest. Serbian outside hitter Ana Mihajlovic topped the charts with 16 points to her name.
The evening match between Bulgaria and Croatia was very important not only for the teams on the court, but also for the players of Serbia and Slovakia who watched the game from the stands. The Croatians took the first set, but later on, the Bulgarians improved their performance, won the second and the third set before they edged ahead 24-22 in the fourth. The Croatian team, however, fought hard, saved two match points and levelled the match. In the tiebreak, the Bulgarians took the lead and eventually won 3-2 – with an enormous contribution of their 195-cm-tall opposite Iva Dudova, who scored 46 points.
Croatia trying to stop Dudova (BUL) during the 5-set matchup
“I cannot describe my emotions right now, I am very happy for this victory. It was a very tough match and a big fight. Our main power is the team power and collective play; we helped each other a lot on the court. How do I feel after scoring 46 points? I have never played such a match before, for sure (smiling).”
Iva Dudova
Opposite of Bulgaria
In the other pool in Nyiregyhaza, Poland needed three sets only to rout Belgium – and even though the young Yellow Tigers put up a fight and claimed an early lead in the second set, Poland slowly but surely were able to impose their quality and history repeated itself in the third set as well. Zofia Sobanty top scored for Poland (12 points), with the young players in white and red shirts improving their win-loss record to 2-2 to sit in third place in the pool.
Turkey beat hosts Hungary 3-0 as well to cement their second place in the group. The young Turks claimed a 10-point lead in the first set and even though Hungary attempted a comeback, the visitors still had too much of an edge. The second set was a much closer affair, with Hungary claiming the leading a few times, before Turkey changed gear to make it 2-0 in their favour. The same scenario unfolded in set three, where Hungary fought bravely but Turkey had the upper hand in the end.
“I have mixed feelings because we could have achieved more in this match. Even though we could have won, we did not quite play as we had planned to do.”
Gabor König
Head coach of Hungary
Veronika Eremeeva helped Russia claim their fourth victory in as many matches in Pool I
Finally, Russia extended their winning streak to four matches in a row as they beat the Czech Republic in three sets. Even though Russia still did feel the fatigue from their matchup with Turkey, the Czechs did not seize their chances to win the first set. After coming back from an early two-point deficit, Russia controlled the second set with ease and they were even more dominant in the third set, where they claimed a seven-point lead with Marina Asliamova standing behind the service line. For the first time in the tournament, Veronika Eremeeva did not top score for Russia as she finished on 12 points – three less than those scored by her teammate Polina Kovaleva.
