Spain, Croatia, Belarus, France and Bulgaria were the winners of their respective matches in another day of action at the European Golden League. Pool C finished their rivalry today, with Czech Republic remaining top of the table, followed by Croatia with 11 points after 4 victories. Pool A and B will continue their games throughout the weekend. Spain hold a strong position in Pool A after a four-setter match against Azerbaijan, while France climb up to the second position after winning against Romania. Despite having secured their spot at the Final Four as a host, Bulgaria continue to prove their quality as leaders of the table in Pool B.
Pool C
Croatia vs. Hungary 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-23)
The first set of the match between Croatia and Hungary was balanced from the beginning. Neither team wanted to leave the tournament by losing, finally after a great serve by Klara Peric, the Croatian players won the first set. The second set was dominated by Croatia from the beginning until the end. In the last set the Hungarian players improved their game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Croatia.
- Samanta Fabris was the top scorer with 15 points, followed by her teammate Matea Ikic with 14 points
- Bozana Butigan was the best blocker in the match with 4 points in this element
- Hungary allowed almost all of their players to get some court time. Kata TÖRÖK and Eszter Anna PEKÁRIK led on their side of the net with 9 points each.
- PEKÁRIK was also the best blocker in the Hungarian team with 3 stuffs.
“We finished this tournament the best way. It is not easy to adapt to our opponents. The Hungarian players have very different style of volleyball, they have very balanced players, so I am glad we managed to adapt our system of the game to them.”
Daniele Santarelli
Coach of Croatia
Hungary celebrate a point
“Congratulations to Croatia on claiming three victories in the second tournament of the Golden European League. We were not able to use our advantage in the last part of the set and that is the reason why we lost 3-0 today.”
Jakub Gluszak
Coach of Hungary
Pool C
Belarus v Czech Republic 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 21-25, 15-8)
The teams of the Czech Republic and Belarus clashed in the last match of the Golden European League 2021 in Prague. Due to the great physical workload of the players, for whom this match was already a sixth game in seven days, Ioannis Athanasopoulos decided to give the Czech team substitutes a chance to gain national team experience. The Belarusians were giving the hosts a hard time from the beginning of the match. However, the Czech volleyball national team came back and levelled the match at 2-2. The hosts ran out of strength in the fifth set and the Belarusians claimed the victory. The result keeps Belarus in the third position at the end of competition in Pool C.
- Belarus led throughout the first two sets, when the Czech Republic tied the score leading up to a tie-break
- Lucie Nova scored whooping 29 points for Czech Republic, becoming the best scorer in the women’s competition today
- Hanna Davyskiba scored 19 points for Belarus
- Both teams performed well in block, with Belarus scoring 13 points and Czech Republic securing 16 points in this element
- Belarus performed great at the service line, scoring 12 aces collectively
“Today I decided to give a chance to players who have not been involved in the games so far. At first they were nervous, but I’m proud of how they fought and led the match to the fifth set. The result could have been happier, but the girls showed me that I can count on them in the upcoming matches.”
Ioannis Athanasopoulos
Coach of Czech Republic
Despite the loss Czech Republic finish the competition with a smile, as they will continue onto the Final Four
“I think it was good for the last match. The spectators had to like the five sets and we are glad we are finishing this tournament with a win.”
Yuliya Miniuk
Middle blocker of Belarus
Pool B
Bulgaria v Slovakia 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-22)
Bulgaria continue their winning run in Pool B, after they claimed their second straight set win against Slovakia. The Final Four hosts prove strong leaders of the Pool, having three victories so far. The Bulgarian coaching staff allowed the majority of their players to get some game time and experience. Slovakia suffered their third loss and remain at the bottom of the table, having only won one point in three games.
- Elitsa Vasileva and Nikola Radosova ended as the top scorers with 13 points each
- Slovakia led in blocking element, gaining 11 points collectively, while Bulgaria scored 7
- Bulgaria in return dominated at the service line with 6 aces scored vs 2 for Slovakia
“The emotions are running high. It was great to play in front of some fans today. It was so special that these were our supporters. I feel like I am 16 years old and I have just played my first game for Bulgaria. It was very important to win and we did our job in the best possible way.”
Elitsa Vasileva
Captain of Bulgaria
Bulgaria and Slovakia met in this edition of the European Golden League for the second time
“We have to accept that Bulgaria is a much stronger team than us. We tried to do our best, but we failed. Now we will have a game against Ukraine on Sunday. We could score some points for the European and World ranking. Ukraine is not as strong as Bulgaria.”
Marco Fenoglio
Head coach of Slovakia
