Slovenia – France
Anja Zdovc was back in action for Slovenia after an illness and she brought some more stability to the defense line; however, France’s star Christina Bauer opened the gap for her side before Elena Kucej and Tjasa Turnsek helped Slovenia come back to -3 (23:20); a block by France’s captain Anna Rybaczewski finished the opening set at 25-20.
Bauer and Hélène Schleck moved up the score to 14:8 for France in set 2 but Slovenia got back on track via their captain Marina Cvetanovic who scored 11 points all alone in this section of the game. After a tie at 22, Bauer, Schleck and Rybaczewski made sure France could celebrate the provisional 2:0.
Slovenia could not keep up with the pace imposed by France in set 3, the 3:0 was finally there and France now needs to hope Slovenia will take one set from Belgium on Sunday to be able to qualify directly for the final round of the 2013 European Championship.
