Russia – team
Like Poland, Russia booked their third consecutive win in Pool II at the 2012 CEV Junior Volleyball European Championship – Women. The promising young Russian talents beat the Czech Republic in straight sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-14). Irina Voronkova with 15 kills and Eli Uattara (13) were the dominant players for Russia, whilst Michaela Mlejnkova scored ten times for the Czechs.
Even when the team of head coach Stanislav Mitac tried its best, the difference between the two sides was finally too big. Russia showed their power with six aces, a solid 71% quote in passing and remarkable 49% in attack.
After an undisputed first set (25-18), the young Czech ladies fought bravely in the second period with admirable offensive combinations and compact defense work. At 19-21, the Mitac team had a chance to narrow the gap to one point, but the Russian powerhouse struck back fearlessly (25-21). That was too much for the Czech Republic. In the third and last set, the Russians never looked back to conclude their third win in a one-sided way (25-14).
Russian head coach Svetlana Safronova: “We played better than the days before, in almost all aspects of the game. Now we need to prepare well for Wednesday’s duel against Poland.”
Russia captain Elena Novik: “In the beginning of the tournament, we were a little bit nervous. Now we fell more confident.”
Czech captain Lucie Herbockova: “We played a good game today, particularly in the two first sets. We knew that Russia was a great team, we tried to do our best.”
