Serbia-Israel
The Israelis fought bravely in order to claim their first win in the competition but on the other side of the net they found young Serbian players who were greedy for some points. Israel’s team captain and opposite player Moran Zur set the pace of the game in the first set helping the home side cruise to a speedy 21-14.
Serbia changed gear in the second set going up 9:6 and 17:12, well anchored by their spiker Ivana Lukovic, and rapidly sealed the 21-12 that meant equality in sets.
Israel started well in the third set but Serbia responded with some good play to make it 11:9 halfway through the set. Though Moran Zur was still playing superbly for the home side, she could not change the course of the game and Serbia pocketed the provisional 2:1 (21-16).
After another close start (4:4), Serbia gradually imposed their rhythm in the fourth set (12:7) and even a time-out asked by Israeli head coach Arie Selinger at 14:9 could not do much. Sanja Bursac was Serbia’s best player in that section of the game – she was also the top scorer in the end with 17 points – and the guests wrapped it up at 21-12 for a 3:1 victory.
“We caught a weak start probably because of the long trip” says Serbia’s head coach Aleksandar Vladisavljev. “However, as soon as we found our rhythm, we could control the game. Anyway, we have a young group and there is still a long way to go”.
“We played a good first set but the way is long when you have a young team as we do” added home mentor Arie Selinger. “We have learned a lot from our participation in the European League and I hope we will see the benefits of this process in the near future”.
To read more news from this competition click on European League 2013 W.
