Greece
Best scorer of duel in Bar was Greece’s captain Olga Strantzali with 18 points. Anthi Vasilantonaki added 15 kills for her side. Russia’s best spiker was Angelina Sperskayte with 10 points.
Greece took no notice of the tall Russian blockers as they matched the strength that Russia had shown early in the first set. After Greece went 16-14 ahead, Russia tried hard to come back but the upcoming Greeks stars kept momentum and when they were 23-21 up, Olga Strantzali, who had been impressive in the Greek offence, smashed a heavy spike on the right sideline before she added an impressive service winner to claim the first set.
Russia‘s lack of offensive power, combined with brilliant attacks by Anthi Vasilantonaki and Alexandra Psoma, allowed the Greeks to keep a small advantage until 16-15 in the second set. Then the scores were tied a number of times as the battle heated up before Greece displayed an outstanding 6-0 run from 19-19 to 25-19 to take a well-deserved 2:0 set lead. Despite an early 0-6 and 7-15 deficit in the beginning of the third set the Russian team refused to give up a priori, relying on Daria Kokoreva’s powerful spikes to spark a comeback halfway. But with Strantzali and Vasilantonaki unstoppable in attacking, Greece kept control towards the end and clinched victory on a Vasilantonaki block.
Greece head coach Dimitrios Floros: “We are very happy for winning this match. Even though we did not succeed to finish among the four best teams of the tournament, this win means a lot for us.”
Greece captain Olga Strantzali: “The Russians are a strong team and we were a little bit afraid of playing with them as they display excellent physical predispositions. However, we were mentally stronger and much more persistent today.”
Russia head coach Yury Shchuplov: “The Greek team played very well and they deserved the win. They looked stronger and well prepared for this match.”
Russia captain Svetlana Serbina: “I am not satisfied how we played. Even though the team of Greece is very strong we did not show our best and therefore we are very sad.”
To read more news from this competition click on Youth European Championship 2013 F.
