Belgium – Slovakia
Belgium beat Slovakia in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-18) to book their first win at the 2012 CEV Junior Volleyball European Championship – Women. Celine van Gestel led the Belgians with 17 kills, 15 at the net and two from the service line. Andrea Strbova was the most helpful player for Slovakia with ten points. With a burning smash from the left, Birthe Wittock smashed the Belgian team to a merited first set win. The Belgian squad had already showed their potential the day before versus Turkey, but confirmed its strength with today’s solid performance. On the Slovakian side, the spikers didn’t manage to conclude the rallies, giving Belgium several opportunities for counter attacks. Things didn’t change in the second and third set. Even though Slovakia was each time close at the second technical time-out (15-16 and 16-15), the East Europeans couldn’t find a way to pull through. It seemed as the team of head coach Eva Kosekova lacked punch and confidence. After 78 minutes of playing time, the young Belgian squad closed it out in straight sets to keep their hopes alive for a successful 2012 CEV Junior Volleyball European Championship – Women campaign.
Belgium head coach Julien van de Vyver: “I’m satisfied; we managed to control today’s game. During some difficult moments, we kept calm. This is an important step to prepare the next matches.”
Belgium captain Sarah Coppens: “We committed fewer mistakes today; this was one of the key factors. We had strong serves and worked well as a team.”
Slovakia captain Barbora Kosekova: “We acted too harmlessly at the net. We didn’t manage to put enough pressure on the Belgian defence. I don’t know why we can’t find better solutions.”
