Luxembourg, June 17, 2017. Finland and Spain secured on Saturday their spot in the semi-finals of the 2017 CEV Volleyball European League – Women even though they still have one more match to play in their respective pools. Rookies Finland made it five wins in a row in Pool A after downing Austria in three sets and Spain took two sets from their matchup with Sweden to make sure they will finish on top of the pile in Pool C. Ukraine have a perfect record of two wins in as many matches in Pool B and will be trying to complete a clean sweep of their games on Sunday when taking on hosts Georgia.

Pool A in Minsk (BLR)

Finland vs. Austria

Finland secured their progression to the semis of the European League after rallying to a compelling 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-22, 25-19) over Austria to make sure they will finish on top of the charts in Pool A. The first set, however, was a close affair and only a few mistakes towards the end prevented Austria from taking it – especially as Nikolina Maros struggled to find a way through the Finnish block. Finland dominated the second and third sets with Salla Karhu and Noora Kosonen playing especially well in reception.
“I am satisfied with the result but we had problems in reception and we have to fix this,” said Finland coach Tapio Kangasniemi after the match. “We are happy with reaching the semis and with finishing first in the pool but we have another match with Belarus on Sunday and this is very important for us. After going back home on Monday, we will take a little rest for two days and after that, we will start preparing for the semis.”

Albania vs. Belarus

In the late match, Belarus made amends for last week’s loss to Albania in Tirana and cruised to a comprehensive 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-12, 25-23). The Belarusian coaching staff did not make any substitutions throughout the game with Anastasiya Harelik and Kristina Kicka leading the way for the home side, which excelled at blocking (17 stuffs). Belarus will finish their duties in this year’s European League when playing pool leaders Finland on Sunday.

Pool B in Tbilisi (GEO)

Ukraine vs. France

On a very hot day in the Georgian capital, Ukraine and France opened the programme on Saturday with Ukraine rallying to their second 3-0 victory in as many matches they have contested in Tbilisi this weekend. The first set was a close affair with Ukraine trailing 11-14 before the second technical time-out, but after that initial setback, they changed their pace and eventually swept three sets in a row (25-23, 25-14, 25-17).
“We started very well and we did what we had agreed upon when preparing for this game,” France head coach Felix André said. “We caught a good start to the game and if we had won the first set, the course of the match would have been different. I think we learned a lot today and we hope to win when we play Ukraine in France next week.”
“This match was the most important for us this weekend and we have been preparing very carefully for it, since we know that next week we will play France before their home crowd and we expect a much more difficult game. We wanted to win 3-0 and we eventually made this happen,” said Ukraine coach Gariy Yegiazarov.

Montenegro vs. Georgia

The second match of the day was more dramatic with hosts Georgia putting up a fight and taking the first set before Montenegro claimed the three that followed to secure a 3-1 victory (18-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-18).
“I think these two teams play at the same level,” said Montenegro coach Dragan Nesic. “We made a lot of mistakes but for us today it was important to take three points from this match. I wish the best of luck to the Georgian team for their next matches in the pool.”
“Today we could see that my team can play good Volleyball even against good opponents such as Montenegro,” commented Georgia coach Paata Ulumbelashvili. “I think that after taking the first set we could have won the match too, but unfortunately we ended up giving three straight sets away.”

Pool C in Matosinhos (POR)

Spain vs. Sweden

Sweden’s women emulated what their countrymen did in Skopje by celebrating their first historic victory in the European League as well – and they did so by putting an end to Spain’s winning streak in the competition after four matches (3-2; 15-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13). After easily taking the first set (25-15), Spain made many changes to their starting six and they could no longer cope with the pressure put by the Scandinavian side – and especially by their star player Isabelle Haak, who top scored in the end with 33 points.    
“I am very happy,” Haak said. “The team fought until the end and deserved this victory. Tomorrow we have another match, equally hard, but once again we will be trying to do our best”.
Maria Segura from Spain commented: “We started well but after taking the third set and securing our qualification to the semi-finals, we made some changes and the players who came in looked somehow nervous and not able to cope with the pressure. As a result, we ended up losing the match even though another victory was absolutely within our reach. Tomorrow we will try to close the tournament with one more victory against Portugal. They defend well, are good at blocking and they will have the fans on their side, so I expect a difficult game.”

Slovakia vs. Portugal

The 2016 European League silver medallists upset hosts Portugal by rallying to a 3-1 victory (25-21, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20) to cement their second place in the standing of the pool. Slovakia were mostly in control of the game even though Portugal thrilled the home fans by coming back from five, six points down. Slovakia made the difference towards the end of the sets and by taking advantage of their blocks, they could make up for the deficits they showed in reception.
“We are happy with taking three points from this match, especially since we knew it was going to be a difficult one with Portugal enjoying the support from the audience,” said Slovakia captain Jaroslava Pencova. “I especially liked the way we reacted in some difficult moments and this is the same kind of focus we have to show tomorrow when playing against Sweden, as the Scandinavians played a very good match earlier today against Spain.”
“Slovakia has ‘two teams’, one which is stronger in attack and the other one which stands out tactically and in reception; their coach knows how to play with that and how to break the rhythm of our receivers,” said Portugal coach Antonio Guerra. “We are improving as a team and I think the match against Spain will be another step in this direction even though much will depend on their line-up since they have already secured first place in the pool.”

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