Israel, Slovenia victorious on the last day of Pool play in the Silver #EuroLeagueW

On the last day of pool play in the Silver #EuroLeagueW, Israel locked horns with Luxembourg, while Austria and Slovenia enter the court to determine who the best in Pool A is. 
The outcomes of these matches were of no relevance regarding teams proceeding to the Final Four tournament that will take place on June 11-12 in Maribor, Slovenia. 

On Thursday, Portugal and Bosnia and Herzegovina booked their tickets finishing on first and second place in Pool B, respectively, and on Saturday Austria clinched their Final 4 spot and Slovenia had it secured as organiser, but also took care of business, finish topping the charts in Pool A.

Team Israel celebrating the win over Luxembourg.

Pool A
Final standings:
1. Slovenia – 6 wins, 17 pts.
2. Austria – 4 wins, 13 pts.
3. Israel – 2 wins, 6 pts.
4. Luxembourg – 0 wins, 0 pts.

Israel finished on a high note their 2021 Silver #EuroLeagueW campaign as on the last day of play in Pool A stormed out for a rather quick 3-0 win over the team of Luxembourg. 
Led by head coach Gal Galili, the Israeli players needed only 78 minutes to congratulate themselves with the victory. 
With an overall better performance in all the components, Israel secured the third place in the group, and with no chances of proceeding ahead in the competition, leave the 2021 edition of the tournament with their head held high.

– Only in the first set did Luxembourg put up a fight, breathing down Israel’s necks. However, it was the Israeli team who could found the way, pushing on the serve (3 aces) and emerging victorious. None of the teams recorded a single block in these moments.
– The situation on the net changed in the second set, where 6 kill blocks by Israel turned out to be a hidden weapon for Israel.
– Luxembourg struggled in reception and defence in the next set. 
– Polina Malik from Israel finished as Top Scorer with 19 points, Yael Benjamin added 13. For Luxembourg, Carla Mulli was the best with 12 points to her name. 

In the other match of the day, Austria were close to turn things around and claim the victory, after coming back losing the first two sets vs Slovenia, and bringing the match into tiebreak. However, team Slovenia showed great motivation and high spirits, emerging victorious from the tiebreak. Winning this match, Slovenia showed real mental toughness, which places them in a good position in light of the upcoming important matches in the final tournament.

“I am very happy we won the match. It was hard but we fought until the last point and we managed to win. This was our sixth victory and we are expecting very exciting Final Four tournament next week.”

Brina Bracko
Player of Slovenia

– Slovenia started better in the match, opening in their favour thanks to 4 kill blocks and 19 winning spikes in the first set. Austria pushed on the serve (3) but it wasn’t enough.
– In the next set, roles changed on the block and serve – Slovenia performed better on the serving (3) while Austria showed good skills on the block (4)
– Outclassing the opponent on the winning spikes in the third set (20 compared to 14), it looked like that Slovenia would seized a rather easy 3-0. Austria, however, showed that they weren’t ready to give up and 4 kill blocks and 3 aces tied the game in a set that finished at 32-30 in their favour. 
– Inspired, the Austrian players continued performing well on the net, and with 6 kill blocks brought the match into tiebreak.
– In the decisive, 5th set, Slovenia were slightly better on attack, which was enough for them to claim the win. 
– Darja Erzen from Slovenia finished with 23 points in the match, becoming Top Scorer. For Austria, Nikolina Maros topped the charts with 16 points. 
– Mir Grbac with 5 blocks in important moments was named Best Blocker. 

“I think it was an amazing match and it was great to play here these five sets full of excitement. It was very tough so we are happy to have a day off tomorrow before we start preparing for Final Four tournament.”

Nikolina Maros
Player of Austria

News:
CEV – European Volleyball
IVA – Volleyball Israel
OZS – Volleyball Slovenia
ÖVV – Volleyball Austria