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Men's Superliga draws to a close

The 16th edition of Brazil’s men’s Superliga is set to be decided on Saturday as Bonsucesso/Montes take on Cimed/Malwee in the final of the competition.
Cimed has won the title for the last three years running and also won the 2005/06 championship. However, Bonsucesso will be hoping to spoil the party on a fourth title for their opponents as they look to claim their first Superliga crown in their debut season.
The side is led by Talmo Oliveira, who won gold with Brazil at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. On reaching the final of Brazil’s premier competition, the ex-setter became the first Olympic Volleyball Champion to coach a club side to the finals.
“Being the first ex-player Olympic Champion to reach a Superliga final is more of an incentive to keep working, learning and growing as a coach.” Oliveira said ahead of the game. “The game against Cimed will be fairly balanced and we are two strong teams on equal terms. The fact that we can win the title in our first year as a squad motivates us.”
Additionally, Lorena, who returned to Brazil this season following five years playing Volleyball in Europe, believes Bonsucesso can go all the way.
“We came here to win the title,” the 31-year-old opposite said. “The team is not in the final by accident and although the project is new, the players are experienced.”
The Superliga final is due to take place on Saturday at 9.30pm local time and will be shown live on TV Globo and SporTV.

Cuba continue build up to Women's World Champs

2010 – Cuba continued their build up to the FIVB Women’s World Championship on Sunday as they beat Peru 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-22) in the finals of the Telefonica Cup in Lima, Peru in front of 3,000 spectators.

Peru, who are also preparing for the World Championships from October 29 - November 14 in Japan, were constantly asking questions of Cuba, but could not tame the visitor’s aggressive game.

2010 FIVB Men's World Championship
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Argentina and Uruguay also took part in the tournament and finished third and fourth respectively.
Peru started the game well and picked up the first set 25-21 and looked to have the game under control as they marched to a 24-23 lead in the second. However, Cuba retaliated with two powerful serves from Kenia Carcases to win the set 26-24, bringing the match level.
The third set proved decisive, with a demotivated Peru struggling against a resurgent Cuba, who won 25-15 before going on to take the match with a 25-22 victory in the final set.

Final positions:
1. Cuba
2. Peru
3. Argentina
4. Uruguay.

Results of the tournament:
First Day
Cuba 3-0 Argentina (25-12, 25-20, 25-14)
Peru 3-0 Uruguay (25-11, 25-13, 25-10)
Second Day
Cuba 3-0 Uruguay (25-6, 25-20, 25-22)
Peru 3-0 Argentina (25-14, 25-11, 25-11)
Third Day
Argentina 3-0 Uruguay 0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-15)

Cuba 3-0 Peru 1: (21/25, 26/24, 25/15, 25/22)

Stanislav Shevchenko takes over Presidency of Russian Volleyball Federation

The XIV General Assembly of the Russian Volleyball Federation was staged this past weekend in Moscow and the many delegates assembled there elected Mr. Stanislav Shevchenko to the Presidency. The participants paid their tribute to outgoing President Nikolay Patrushev who was unanimously appointed as the head of the Supervisory Board established within the Russian Volleyball Federation. Mr. Dzhulustan Borisov was nominated Vice President, whereas FIVB Refereeing Commission member Sergey Titov and Mr. Maksim Uvaydov (who is currently heading the Volleyball Federation based in the region of Voronezh) joined the Presidium of the Federation.
Mr. Stanislav Shevchenko recapped for the delegates the main activities of the past year, proudly mentioning that a sports hall is currently being built in Kaliningrad, an ad-hoc training center for the national teams – the so-called Volleygrad - was completed in Anapa and that for the first time ever the Federation had organized an All Star Game featuring the very best female Volleyball players currently competing in Russia. Mr. Shevchenko recalled also the enormous progresses of the Beach Volleyball national teams as well as the tremendous success of the FIVB World League premieres organized in the Russian Far East, namely in the cities of Surgut and Khabarovsk.

CEV CUP ΑΝΔΡΩΝ: Ο τίτλος στην ιταλική Κούνεο

Η ιταλική Κούνεο κατέκτησε για τρίτη φορά (1996 και 2002) το CEV Cup ανδρών, καθώς στον τελικό του Φάιναλ-4 που έγινε στο Μαασέικ του Βελγίου, επιβλήθηκε της ρωσικής Ίσκρα Οντίτσοβο με 3-1. Αυτό ήταν ευρωπαϊκό τρόπαιο για τους «αετούς» των Άλπειων. Την τρίτη θέση κατέλαβε η «οικοδέσποινα» Νόλικο Μαασέικ που νίκησε στον «μικρό» τελικό την ιταλική Πιατσέντζα με 3-1. MVP της διοργάνωσης αναδείχθηκε ο Βέλγος Βουτ Βάισμανς της Κούνεο.

Ο καθρέπτης του Φάιναλ-4

Τελικός

Κούνεο (Ιταλία) – Ίσκαρ Οντίτσοβο (Ρωσία) 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24)

«Μικρός» τελικός
Πιατσέντζα (Ιταλία) – Νόλικο Μαασέικ (Βέλγιο) 1-3 (20-25, 25-23, 16-25, 19-25)

Οι καλύτεροι ανά στατιστική κατηγορία

MVP: Βουτ Βάισμανς (Κούνεο)
Μπλοκέρ: Σίμον Βαν ντε Βοόρντε (Νόλικο Μαασέικ)
Λίμπερο: Ουμπέρ Ενό (Κούνεο)
Υποδοχέας: Μπερτ Ντερκονίνγκεν (Νόλικο Μαασέικ)
Σκόρερ: Γιόχεν Σοπς (Ίσκρα Οντίτσοβο)
Σέρβερ: Βουτ Βάισμανς (Κούνεο)
Πασαδόρος: Νίκολα Γκρίμπιτς (Κούνεο)
Επιθετικός: Γιόχεν Σοπς (Ίσκρα Οντίτσοβο)

Serbian stars to light up CEV Cup

Two of Serbia’s most experienced female players, Maja Siminic and Maja Ognjenovic, who both took part in Serbia and Montenegro’s third place finish at the FIVB World Championships in 2006, are due to take part in separate quarterfinals in the CEV Cup.

Siminic will be competing for a place in the semifinals with Romanian side Volei 2004 Tomis Constanta as they take on Russian outfit Uralochka NTMK Ekaterinburg on Wednesday whilst Ognjenovic will be hoping her side, Eczacibasi Zentiva Istanbul from Turkey, can overcome Rabita Baku from Azerbaijan on Thursday.

The pair, who also played at the FIVB 2007 World Cup together in Japan, will also be joined by two Serbian clubs, Dinamo Pancevo and Crvena Zvezda Beograd, who face each other in the quarterfinals, guaranteeing Serbia’s representation at the semifinal stage later this year.

CEV and CAVB join their efforts to further promote Volleyball in Africa

President André Meyer, together with the members of the Executive Committee, was absolutely pleased to welcome to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg a high-profile delegation of the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) consisting of President Dr. Amr Elwani, Vice President Mr. Majore Louis Timba and Technical Director Mrs. Howyda Mondy. The European and African Volleyball Confederations organized at the CEV premises a first common meeting to exchange their views about several topical issues and join their forces for a further promotion of Volleyball across the African continent.
CEV President André Meyer and CAVB President Dr. Amr Elwani both stressed out the importance of sharing their current knowledge and trigger off a new era in the interaction among Africa and Europe for a bright and promising future of Volleyball in their respective areas of authority.
The agenda for that first joint Executive meeting was pretty busy and demanding, as items dealing with coaching, refereeing, communication, sports management etc. were all at stake. Some issues will be more thoroughly analyzed during the next summit which has been scheduled for 2010, but nevertheless a few key decisions were already made during this first joint session here in Luxembourg and namely:
- As far as refereeing activities are concerned, the CAVB will invite members of the European Refereeing Commission (ERC) to lecture during its annual seminar and the respective Refereeing Commissions will also have to evaluate the possibility of nominating African and European referees to officiate matches overseas; moreover, some international African referees will be also invited to attend the seminar CEV will stage next March in Rome to boost an additional involvement of ladies into international Volleyball refereeing;
- Having been the first Continental Confederation to adopt the electronic score-sheet for all competitions staged under its umbrella, CEV will support CAVB in scouting activities helping in organizing and staging a seminar to have local scouters familiarize with that tool;
- CEV and CAVB will also organize coaching seminars where senior European coaches and prominent officials will be invited to take part; moreover, the two Confederations will promote joint training camps for coaches, with all additional details to be fixed next year;
- the European Volleyball Confederation is also leaving the door open for the eventual attendance to the various yearly educational seminars (refereeing, medical, communication & website, marketing, management of competitions etc.).
The joint Executive meeting came to an end in a very friendly atmosphere and set definitely the tone to strengthen and back up the positive ties that already mark the interaction between the European and African Volleyball families.

The Planetary in Katowice hosts the stars of three Volleyball teams

A bunch of great Volleyball stars like Pavel Abramov, Anna Baranska and Magdalena Sliwa, even though playing for different teams, gathered together before the start of the 2009/2010 CEV Indesit Champions League. This very unusual meeting took place at the Planetary in Katowice, a city that stands out as a kind of Volleyball “Mecca” in Poland.
Three teams from the Upper Silesia region, located in Southern Poland, take part in the upcoming CEV Indesit Champions League. These are JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel S.A. that benefited of a wild card to enter in the men's competition, plus Aluprof BIELSKO-BIALA and Enion Energia MKS DABROWA GORNICZA in the women’s division.
It was an idea of Mr. Zdzislaw Grodecki, President of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel S.A., to organize a common press conference with the stars of the three teams, along with their respective coaches and officials.

2009 FIVB Men's Grand Champions Cup

18-Nov     EGY-IRI        2-3     25-21     20-25     21-25     25-17     10-15     101-103     2:03     520
18-Nov     CUB-BRA     2-3     22-25     26-24     18-25     25-23     10-15     101-112     2:10     1'560
18-Nov     JPN-POL       3-2     22-25     25-15     21-25     25-21     15-10     108-96      2:23    3'470

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ ΕΘΝΙΚΗΣ ΟΜΑΔΑ BEACH VOLLEYBALL - 29 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 2009

ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ ΕΘΝΙΚΗΣ ΟΜΑΔΑ BEACH VOLLEYBALL - 29 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 2009

Με νίκες ξεκίνησαν στο Sanya Open, η Εθνική μας ομάδα των Αρβανίτη-Τσιαρτσιάνη (Νο 5 του ταμπλώ).
Στο πρώτο παιχνίδι μετά από 50΄αγώνα στις 04.00 ώρα Ελλάδας, κατάφερε να επιβληθεί της Ουκρανικής ομάδας των Osheyko-Baburina (No 28 του ταμπλώ) με 2-1 σετ (16-21,21-17,15-11).

Το άσχημο ξεκίνημα στην υποδοχή και κάποια επιπόλαια λάθη στην επίθεση, έφεραν σε δύσκολη θέση την Εθνική μας, οδηγώντας στην απώλεια του 1ου σετ.
Στο 2ο και 3ο σετ οι αθλήτριες μας αφυπνίστηκαν και με όπλο την καλή άμυνα και το μπλοκ, έφεραν το παιχνίδι στα μέτρα τους, κερδίζοντας τον αγώνα.

Στο δεύτερο παιχνίδι της ημέρας που έγινε σήμερα στις 08.00 ώρα Ελλάδας, απέναντι στις Fendrick-Ivy (Νο 21 του ταμπλώ) από τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες της Αμερικής, οι Αρβανίτη- Τσιαρτσιάνη επικράτησαν με το ίδιο σκορ των Fendrick-Ivy (Νο21 του ταμπλώ) με (19-21, 21-17, 15-9) σε 52 λεπτά, κάνοντας και πάλι την ανατροπή του σκορ αφού βρέθηκαν να χάνουν με 1-0 σετ.

Η Εθνική μας ομάδα έχει ήδη εξασφαλίσει την 9η θέση της διοργάνωσης, ενώ ο επόμενος αγώνας της θα διεξαχθεί αύριο, Παρασκευή με αντιπάλους την ομάδα των Van Breedam-Mouha από το Βέλγιο.

Japanese Women’s Team Earns Sanya Main Draw Berth

Teams from seven countries advanced here Wednesday from the women’s Qualification Tournament to the Main Draw of this week’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour where a team from Japan earned their first-ever “money” round appearance.

Ayumi Kusano and Mutsumi Ozaki won a pair of qualifying matches Wednesday to give Japan two Beach Volleyball tandems in the Main Draw of the US$380,000 Sanya Open presented by Olympic Bay. Hiromi Suzuki and Shinako Tanaka earned a Main Draw spot for Japan due to their technical ranking.

Kusano and Ozaki, who will be competing in their first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour Main Draw after failing to qualify in four previous events this season, defeated teams from Norway and Spain Wednesday. The Japanese’s second win was a 14-21, 21-19 and 15-11 victory in 55 minutes over top-seeded Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez Steiner of Spain.

“We are pleased that we were able to finally win a match in the last round of qualifying to advance,” said Kusano. “The Spaniards had eliminated us in Seoul earlier this season in three sets, so we are happy that we were able to reverse that result today. We did not give up after losing the first set. We have been training hard and today’s wins will really help our confidence.”

Tenth-seeded Xitlali Herrera and Rosario Reyes denied Japan a third team in the “money” rounds as the Mexicans upset seventh-seeded Miwa Asao and Takemi Nishibori to advance to their fourth SWATCH FIVB World Tour Main Draw. After defeating a team from host China, Herrera and Reyes posted a 13-21, 21-19 and 18-16 win in 56 minutes over Asao and Takemi.

With one team already in the Main Draw (Sanne Keizer/Marleen Van Iersel), The Netherlands gained two more berths Wednesday with qualifying wins by fourth-seeded Madelein Meppelink/Marloes Wesselink and sixth-seeded Danielle Remmers/Sophie van Gestel.

Also advancing to the “money” rounds of the women’s Sanya Open were second-seeded Brink-Abeler/Claudia Lehmann of Germany, third-seeded Svitlana Baburina/Galyna Osheyko of the Ukraine, fifth-seeded Lucy Boulton/Denise Johns of Great Britain and eighth-seeded Greta Cicolari/Marta Menegatti of Italy.

The second annual Sanya Open is being played on the courts in front of the Hai Po Resort on Sanya Bay. Renowned for its tropical climate and a popular tourist destination, Sanya is also the site for training of the Chinese national Beach Volleyball team. The competition also features men’s competition where opening Main Draw matches were played Wednesday.

With the Sanya Open being the last men’s event this season, the women will conclude their competition calendar next week at the Thailand resort city of Phuket (November 3-8 on Karon Beach). The second annual Sanya Open is the 12th and final double gender event on the $7.2-million SWATCH FIVB World Tour that started nearly six months ago in Brazil.

U.S. Men Fall to Cuba in NORCECA Final

The U.S. Men’s Volleyball Team fell to Cuba in the gold medal match of the NORCECA Continental Championship on Saturday, 1-3 (21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 22-25) in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

Cuba (5-0), which won its 14th NORCECA title in 21 years of the tournament, qualifies for the Grand Champions Cup in November in Japan. The U.S. Men finished with a record of 4-1.

Evan Patak (Pleasanton, Calif.) led the U.S. Men with 14 points on 14 kills. Patak was also named Best Server of the tournament as he finished with 10 aces.

Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) added 12 points on 10 kills and two blocks. Sean Rooney (Wheaton, Ill.) scored 12 points on 11 kills and one block.

Andrew Hein (Carol Stream, Ill.) totaled 10 points on eight kills and two blocks. David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) finished with five points on three kills and two blocks.

“It is an early wake-up call for us,” U.S. Team Captain Tom Hoff (Park Ridge, Ill.) said. “We didn’t play as good as we can. Cuba showed discipline and they came in focused on winning the tournament.”

Young Wilfredo Leon, 17, paced Cuba with 24 points on 23 kills and one block. He was also named the tournament MVP, Best Spiker and Rising Star. Michael Sanchez scored 19 points on 16 kills and three blocks. Cuba Head Coach Orlando Samuels received the “Jim Coleman Award” as the best coach.

The U.S. offense struggled at times on Saturday as Team USA completed 46 of 102 kill attempts (45 percent) with 17 errors. Priddy led the way, completing 10 of 20 attempts with three errors. Rooney completed 11 of 24 attempts with one error.

Cuba completed 62 of 120 kill attempts (52 percent) with 13 errors.

Cuba out-blocked Team USA 11-7 and had three aces while the United States had none.

The United States was credited with 41 excellent receptions on 71 attempts (54 percent) with three faults. Rooney was 12 of 21 (57 percent) with no faults. Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was 11 of 21 (48 percent) with one fault. Priddy was 12 of 22 (45 percent) with two faults.

Cuba was credited with 52 excellent receptions on 79 attempts (65 percent) with one fault.

Team USA finished with 22 digs and 43 faults. Lambourne was credited with 12 and six faults.

Kevin Hansen (Newport Beach, Calif.) was credited with 28 running sets and no faults on 80 attempts.

U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) started Priddy and Rooney at outside hitter, Hein and Lee at middle blocker, Patak at opposite, Hansen at setter and Lambourne at libero. Hoff, Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) and Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif.) played as substitutes.

Tiara and Volleyballs Do Mix for Moore

The competitive drive in 19-year-old Kelsey Moore (Chandler, Ariz.) has allowed her to blossom in two areas of her life, despite getting a late start in both compared to others her age.

Moore, a 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman playing middle blocker at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), has ambitions to play professional volleyball and possibly become a political reporter after her playing career is over. Both life treks may have gained significant jump starts through a conversation with a family friend and hard work this summer that resulted in two victories that will land her on a national stage come April 2010 as Miss Texas USA 2010 competing in the Miss USA 2010 Pageant. Before this year, pageants and any type of modeling were unknown to Moore.

“A friend of mine who is in the sports and entertainment business said that if I wanted a future in pro volleyball, that I should get my name out there, get in front of cameras and reporters,” Moore said about increasing potential sponsorship interest after college volleyball for a professional career in the sport and later a spot in front of the cameras reporting. “I started by entering the Miss El Paso USA Pageant, which is one of about 10 cities that have contests in Texas that earn spots in the Miss Texas USA Pageant, while other contestants just sign up to compete (without a preliminary contest).”

Despite being a student-athlete on a full volleyball scholarship at UTEP, Moore does not anticipate any problems with receiving her prize package.

“We are still talking with the NCAA, but everything of monetary value I received not because of being a UTEP athlete,” Moore said. “It is separate and should not affect my eligibility. I probably will not take some of the prizes, including a scholarship to Lindenwood University as I am already on full scholarship and I would need to live in Texas to represent the state.”

The biggest prize, though, is an entry into the Miss USA Pageant and representing Texas at the event scheduled for April 18 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

Just as she was new to the pageant world in 2009, Moore ventured out of her comfort zone five years ago to find the sport of volleyball and started playing against teammates and opponents who had taken up the sport much earlier in life. She had been playing basketball since age five and excelled in track and field on the side. However, she had never played competitive volleyball until her freshman year in high school.

Barbados takes seventh place with victory over Panama

Barbados defeated Panama 20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-15 to take the seventh position at the NORCECA Men’s Continental Championship.

Elwyn Oxley led Barbados with 21 points including four blocks and Fabian Cox added 18 all via attacks. Damien Danzell contributed 13 points to the winning effort including seven blocks and two aces. Domingo Avila and Donaldo Ureña recorded 14 points apiece for Panama and Ricardo Brown tallied 11.

“It is good to go back home with this victory,” said Ludger Niles, the coach of Barbados. “We need to play more matches against teams like Mexico, Panama and Dominican Republic. We have a two-year working plan and now we have to go back and continue that trend.”

“We started well winning the first set but suddenly we started to make many mental mistakes and they took advantage of it,” said Brown, the captain of Panama. “Our blocking wasn’t good after the first set and we let them to take the momentum. They played better than us and deserved the win.”

Rome to host 2011 SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships

The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the National Olympic Committee of Italy (CONI) and the Italian Volleyball Federation are pleased to announce that the 2011 SWATCH-FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships will be held in the Italian capital of Rome from June 17-26.

The eighth edition of the SWATCH FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, which features total prize money of US$1 million, will be held in the famed sports complex - the Foro Italico - next to the 1960 Olympic Stadium and will mark the third time that it has hosted a FIVB World Tour event, with an inaugural Open event held in 2009 and a Grand Slam proposed for May, 2010.

Το volleycountry αγκαλιάζει στο ελληνικό πρωτάθλημα

Από σήμερα το ελληνικό πρωτάθλημα έχει εκπροσώπηση και στο δημοφιλέστερο ευρωπαϊκό site για την πετοσφαίριση. Ήδη στο volleycountry αναρτήθηκαν δύο άρθρα σχετικά με το ελληνικό πρωτάθλημα και προβλέπεται να δημιουργηθεί και ξεχωριστή ενότητα με τις βαθμολογίες και τα αποτελέσματα αγώνων.
Για να διαβάσετε 2 πρώτα άρθρα μπορείτε να ακολουθήσετε τους παρακάτω συνδέσμους:
http://www.volleycountry.com/volleyball-league/history-of-greek-volleyball-league.html
http://www.volleycountry.com/volleyball-league/greek-volleyball-league-starts.html
Επιτέλους όλοι οι φίλοι του volley εκτός Ελλάδας θα μπορούν να μελετούν τους αγώνες του ελληνικού πρωταθλήματος και να ενημερώνονται για τις τελευταίες εξελίξεις.

Φωτογραφίες από το 2009 CEV Orlen European Championships

No doubt, Italian girls are the real queens of European volleyball!

. With a truly amazing performance against the Netherlands, Italy completed a fantastic campaign here in Poland to defend the gold medal the “Azzurre” had already seized two years ago in Luxembourg. The Italians totally dominated the scene from the beginning up to the end of the match to confirm they are the real queens of European volleyball.
The impressive and magnificent Atlas Arena was completely sold-out for the final match of the 2009 CEV Orlen European Championships featuring the teams that have been delighting the Volleyball family with their outstanding performances over the last ten days. Defending champion Italy was going to have a shot at the double whereas the Netherlands were back in contention for the gold medal match 14 years after they had notched the title at home in Arnhem, with veteran Ingrid Visser being the only player of that time still included in the roster. The final was – for the first time ever – whistled by two ladies, Zorica Bjelic and Susana Rodriguez, an additional relevant pattern to be added to an already memorable competition.
Dutch captain Manon Flier scored the first rally of the match, but immediately the “Azzurre” replied with all their personality for what promised to be a great game. Holland spiked out and Italy got the lead at the first technical break (8:7), but the teams were battling point for point with great intensity, even though some silly mistakes from the serving area marked the mid section of the set. After an incredible saving, Francesca Piccinini killed her favorite diagonal spike and a massive triple block set the tone for the second technical time-out (16:13). Setter and captain Eleonora Lo Bianco started her personal show varying the offensive solutions of her team and the Italians strengthened their confidence as well spread their margin (20:14). In the meantime the Dutch were getting shakier and shakier, especially in reception, The Italian block was totally dominating the scene and both Debby Stam and Manon Flier could not find a way to pass through that wall and the final whistle came a few seconds later for a clear 25-16.
Holland started the second set fearless and at 6:3 coach Barbolini was forced to ask for his first break; it did not work out that well since Francesca Piccinini committed a couple of mistakes, first in reception and then in attacking, to pave the way for the 8:3 orange. After having struggled a bit, Italy scored three times in a row but did not close the gap deriving from a poor opening until the “Azzurre” finally leveled at 15 and got the lead at the second break with a terrific block on Manon Flier. While the Polish fans had maintained their red and white gadgets, the organizers had also distributed orange and blue balloons to recall the traditional colors of the teams to be seen on court, thus creating a very nice and sweet atmosphere in the hall. Italy, especially with veterans Simona Gioli and former Cuba Taismary Aguero, was towering back again (21:17) and in a few minutes the set count moved to 2:0 for the defending champions.
The Italians rolled over all the way through the third set and the Dutch looked sometimes a bit lost as they could not find any tool to interrupt the Italian dominance. Aguero put an end to this Championship with an ace and the “blue” party could be finally triggered!
Jenny Barazza commented right after the last rally: “I am so excited, we are definitely a great team; we have some dazzling individual skills but is really a pleasure to be part of that group. We always know what we have to do and we always control the situation with true confidence. This fantastic atmosphere descends especially from our coach and we owe him a lot for this gold medal”.

Results
The Netherlands vs. Italy 0:3 (16-25, 19-25, 20-25)

Best Players Awards
MVP: Manon Flier (NED)
Best blocker: Christiane Fürst (GER)
Best libero: Paola Cardullo (ITA)
Best receiver: Kerstin Tzscherlich (GER)
Best scorer: Margareta Anna Kozuch (GER)
Best server: Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza (POL)
Best setter: Eleonora Lo Bianco (ITA)
Best spiker: Simona Gioli (ITA)

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.

FIVB Women’s Grand Champions Cup place on offer at 27th Women South American Championship

The winner of the five-day tournament will qualify for November’s Grand Champion Cup which already boasts Vietnam, Thailand, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Poland and Brazil amongst its participants with the South American continental champion and a wild card filling the remaining vacancies.

The South American Women’s Championships will see two groups of four before the top two from each group advance to the semi-finals.

Defending champion and World Grand Prix champions Brazil will be seeking their 16th title having been victorious for the past seven consecutive years. Peru, who has won the title 12 times, is the only country to have claimed the honour as South America women’s champion.

Wednesday’s opening match will feature Venezuela against Colombia before Peru takes on Chile, Uruguay plays Argentina and Brazil goes up against Paraguay.

Group A - Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay

Group B - Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and Chile

Draw for the Qualifying Stage

First Round – Wednesday

Game 1 - Venezuela v Colombia

Game 2 - Peru v Chile

Game 3 - Uruguay v Argentina

Game 4 - Brazil v Paraguay

Second Round – Thursday

Game 5 - Venezuela v Chile

Game 6 - Peru v Colombia

Game 7 - Argentina v Paraguay