After some struggles Poland finally joins the Netherlands for the semis

2009 CEV Orlen European Championships

Lodz, Poland, October 1, 2009. It was quite a long day at the Atlas Arena in Lodz but finally about 13,000 Polish fans – plus many more being tuned via Polsat television – were finally able to celebrate their heroines who made it to the semifinals after having been struggling in their match against Bulgaria. The Poles also benefited of Russia’s defeat against The Netherlands that came after a thrilling five-setter and what was definitely the very best match of the tournament so far. In the semifinals slated for this Saturday the Poles will face again Holland while the Italians – who are still undefeated – will test out again the likes of Germany that came out as the real surprise of Pool F in Katowice. Results Pool E Spain vs. Belgium 3:2 (23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13) The Netherlands vs. Russia 3:2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) Poland vs. Bulgaria 3:1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-23) Semifinals – Saturday, October 3, 2009 (local time) 17.00 The Netherlands vs. Poland 20.00 Italy vs. Germany Visit also the official website of the 2009 CEV Orlen European Championships: www.mekobiet2009.pl/en The Championships are also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EuroVolley2009 It was the third make or break match for Poland in three days. In the last game of the playoff round the local heroines faced Bulgaria. Only a victory could give the home team the promotion to semi finals. Bulgaria still had a chance to get the fifth place in the tournament, hence to avoid playing the qualification rounds for the 2011 Championships, but to attain that goal needed to score a 3:0. Finally it was Poland that achieved its goal beating Bulgaria 3:1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-21, 23-25). Joanna Kaczor led all scorers with 25 points. On Saturday the home team will play against the Netherlands in a battle for a place in the final match. If someone in the Atlas Arena thought it was going to be an easy match for Poland, he had to change his mind after the first set. Bulgaria played with a very solid defense and efficient attacks, while the hosts made many errors. The Poles couldn't find any rhythm. They were trailing down first at 8:7 and then 16:13 at the technical time-outs and never bounced back as Bulgaria took the set 25-18. To avoid bigger troubles, Poland had to win the second set. The home team, led by opposite Joanna Kaczor, went in front for most of the frame, but the ambitious Bulgarians didn't even think about giving up. They tied the game and when the score was 20-20, it was all open. Inspired by substitute setter Izabela Belcik, the Polish team closed the set winning the last five points in a row. Bulgaria had a flying start to the third set and led 8:2 at the first technical time-out. Poland rushed to catch up on, but couldn't level the score. The hosts trailed by two points at the second technical time-out. The break helped the Poles and they came back on the floor with high energy. The Polish block started to work finally and the audience served as a seventh player once again as Poland cruised to a 25-21 victory. After two tie-breaks in two matches earlier this day, everyone in the Atlas Arena was wondering if another one would have been necessary. The Bulgarians did everything they could to spoil the white and red party, but had no arguments. Poland took over control in the middle of the frame and kept the slim advantage till the end. After Anna Baranska's killing spike from the left wing, it was all over. The Polish team and more than thirteen thousand fans started to celebrate. Bulgarian captain Lyubka Debarlieva stated after the match: “I'm very upset we lost. Poland played good match, but I'm sad because I think we didn't believe we could win”. Bulgarian coach Dragan Nesic: “Good luck tor Poland. We played well, but it's never good to lose a game. My team had quite a good tournament and I hope in two or three years Bulgaria will join the best teams in Europe”. In spite of having lost Wednesday's match against Poland, Russia still had a chance to qualify for the semifinals. They needed to defeat the still undefeated Netherlands to make it among the best four. The Russians were very close, but didn't succeed in that task. After the best match in the tournament so far, the Netherlands beat Russia 3:2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) and made happy more than ten thousand spectators in the Atlas Arena as Poland was then likely to clinch a spot for the semis. Ekaterina Gamova of Russia scored 37 points while Manon Flier led the Dutch offense with 27 points. The last time the two teams had met on the floor was in Japan during the final round of 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix. Russia scored there a 3:0 and the Netherlands started the game with respect. For most of the set the teams were evenly matched (16:16), but then the Dutch ladies shifted into a higher gear and did what they had been doing from the beginning of the tournament. Great block-defense cooperation and efficient counter attacks gave Holland the final 25-19. In the second set Russia responded in the best possible way. Vladimir Kuzyutkin's team was one point down at the first technical time-out, but after the break Ekaterina Gamova started off her personal show. The Russian giant was unstoppable in attack and her team started gaining some advantage. Gamova scored fifteen points in this section of the game and led Russia to a convincing 25-19. It was the Netherlands' first set lost in this Championship. In the third set, the battle continued. Both teams' players fought hard for every ball and the spectators in the Atlas Arena watched some fantastic volleyball. With Gamova, Natalia Safronova and Tatiana Kosheleva as main characters, Russia managed to run away in the score (24:20), but the Netherlands staged a comeback and had a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately for the 'Oranje' the Russians had the last word and they took the set 25-23. Holland opened the fourth set with much more aggressiveness and enjoyed a four-point lead at the first technical time-out (8:4). With Kosheleva in the serving area, Russia made an impressive run and tied the score at 12. The Russians knew that if they had won this set, they would have secured a place in the semifinals. But the Dutch team had its own work to do. With the support of more than ten thousand fans in the Atlas Arena, the Netherlands cruised to the final 25-19. The fifth set was a great resume of this match. The teams went point for point until 11:11. Holland won two balls in a row and built an advantage they didn't waste. After the last point won by the Dutch team, the gym nearly exploded! Earlier this afternoon Spain beat Belgium 3:2 (23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13) and secured the ninth place in the tournament. It was a farewell game for Belgian star Virginie De Carne who finished her international career. De Carne had a busy 'good bye' as she made 92 attacks in total and got 37 points! The first set was extremely even and neither Belgium nor Spain was able to get more than two points of margin. Spanish setter Romina Lamas tried to use all of her teammates while her vis-à-vis Frauke Dirickx played mainly with Virginie De Carne. The Belgian star made 23(!) attacks in this partial, but it paid off. In the final part of the set the Belgians showed a better efficiency and took the set 25-23. In the second period, Spain led right from the start. Gido Vermeulen's team balanced attacks worked very well and they started spreading the gap. De Carne did her best, but without any help of her teammates, couldn't catch up with the rivals while Spain went on to win 25-19. After leveling the set count, the Spaniards started the third set with more confidence and jumped out to a 5:1 lead. They were 8:4 and 16:14 at the technical time-outs and it looked as if they had a full control of what was happening on the court. Belgium never gave up and thanks to their patience tied the score (20:20). The Spanish team couldn't force the Belgian block, De Carne finally got some support from her colleagues and Gert Vande Broek's team stole the set 25-21. The fourth partial was much more like the first one, but the roles were reversed. Spain and Belgium went point for point for most of the set and it was the team from the Iberian Peninsula that maintained the nerves under control in the end. The girls of Dutch-born coach Gido Vermeulen sailed to the final 25-23 to level the count once again. The Spanish team started the deciding tie-break very aggressively and enjoyed a two-point advantage (8-6) as the girls changed sides. That gap was preserved up to 12:10, then Belgium managed to tie at 12, but the Spaniards had a better finish. They went on to close the game 15-13. The Spanish team, that hadn't won a single game in the final round of the European Championships until this tournament in Poland, got their second triumph here after having already defeated Croatia during the preliminary round.