Slovakia
Best scorers of the match were Slovakian Nikola Pistelakova and Andrea Strbova with 17 kills each, whilst Lea Steuperaert booked 14 units for France. The match had no impact on further rounds of the tournament as both team have already been eliminated, but it was important for both sides to finish on a positive note. During the first two sets, the Slovakian team ruled the court (25-19, 25-19), but France came back powerfully with their spikers on fire. French captain Kim Nowak brought up set point with a blistering winner from the left, before a Safiatou Zongo ace gave France new hopes at the end of the third set (25-15). However, it was not good enough to overcome the solid Slovakian squad today. With a well-timed tip, setter Barbora Kosekova ended the match after 96 minutes in Slovakia’s favor (25-18).
Slovakia head coach Eva Kosekova: “We really wanted this win. It was important for us to finish our European Championship campaign positively. My players respected the game plan very well.”
France head coach Jacques Beraud: “I’m disappointed, yes. I gave two new players a chance, but Slovakia played better today. We made a strong comeback in the third set, but offered our opponents too many points in the fourth set. It’s a pity.”
