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Greece's nationals hope for major attendance at their last games in Chania

As they attended a press conference staged at the local Town Hall in Chania, the head coaches and captains of Greece’s national teams invited all fans to get together at the “Kladisou” sports hall this weekend to cheer for the home guys and girls in their last round of play for the prelims of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League.
“We are pleased to be here in Chania for the last round of the European League” said captain Nikolaos Roumeliotis. “We have been playing with glowing hearts in the previous rounds and exploiting a unique chance for our young players to get more international experience. They need as much playing time as possible to improve their skills. I invite all Volleyball fans to come to the sports hall and support us as we try to clip two more wins against Austria”.
“I would like to combine the charm of Chania with some good games of my team” added head coach Alekos Leonis. “The positives I can eventually take from the last games in the European League will help me prepare the Olympic qualification coming up this fall. We expect quite many people to join us and see the matches with Austria”.
“I would like to invite the fans, young players, children with their parents to come and support us in the most difficult round of play as Serbia is definitely the strongest team of our Pool” singled out Nikoleta Koutouxidou. “So we all want to get some experience from these matches and of course possibly win”.
“Chania is one of the most beautiful places in Greece and we are happy to come here for our last matches in the European League” stated her mentor Dimitris Floros. “We will play a world-class team, Serbia, so this is a unique chance also for the local audience to watch some classy Volleyball”.
“We are here as we are pursuing our vision to promote and support Volleyball across the country” said Mr. Thanassis Rerras, Board of Administration member at the Hellenic Volleyball Federation. “That’s why we staged matches in Orestiada, Samos, Pyrgos, Xanthi and here in Chania. The island of Crete is simply wonderful and there we have quite many Volleyball clubs and players. Our national teams are here to display a great performance and so we want as many fans as possible to come to the sports hall and attend the games”.
“We are really glad to welcome our national teams but also the Volleyball players representing Austria and Serbia” stressed the Mayor of Chania, Emmanuel Skoulakis. “The matches will be played in a splendid sports hall and we are happy to stage a prestigious event like the European League here in Chania. I wish the very best of luck to all athletes”.
Mr. Dimitris Lipsakis, Vice Mayor of Chania, added: “It is a real honor for us to stage these games. We’ll do our best to deliver a good organization and make everyone feel at home. We support Volleyball and any sport which helps bring positive values to our kids and youth. I wish all teams the best and hope we’ll have many children with their parents attending the games to create a nice and friendly atmosphere”.

ACH Volley LJUBLJANA unveils new logo and ambitious plans for the future

The ACH Volley Volleyball Club staged yesterday its first press conference after officially moving to Slovenia’s capital city, Ljubljana. Among other things their logo – an orange dragon which is also the symbol of Ljubljana – was unveiled in front of quite many media. As a matter of fact, it was an upgrade of their existing and, throughout Europe, already recognisable team logo, which reflects, as stated in the presentation by its designer David Fartek from the ArnoldVuga Agency, the culture of sports spirit “whom we have added combativeness and fieriness at the symbolic level. The ACH Volley logo is now circular and, considering it contains a dragon’s head, consequently also the last letter in the symbol, the 'Y', is twisted mischievously to symbolise the dragon’s tail and also an arrow pointing upwards...” stated Fartek.
There is much symbolism and expression in the club’s new logo, which actually visualises its strategy in various areas: in competition, as linked to the first team, in organisation, as linked to the team’s professional management, and in development, as linked to the work with the younger groups being performed both in Ljubljana and in Bled.
ACH Volley namely plans to continue its intensive work in all of those areas as it was discussed at the press conference by Rasto Oderlap, President of the Management Board of ACH Volley, Andrej Flajs, team captain, Matjaž Silič, manager of the junior program in Bled and Gregor Kumer, President of ŠD Fitt Črnuče, which up to now cooperated with the Olimpija Volleyball team but in the future will work with ACH Volley.
Moreover, part of the discussion with the journalists was dedicated to a more in-depth evaluation of the upcoming season, in which once again the team will be starring in the CEV Volleyball Champions League.

Young Croatian side to welcome Great Britain in Osijek

The city of Osijek will be playing host to Croatia's men's national team also for the last round of play in the prelims of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League with Great Britain being the last opponent for the home guys. Two weeks ago Croatia did already play at the “Gradski vrt” sports hall – which has a capacity of 3,500 – sharing wins with Pool leader and neighboring Slovenia.
Croatia is ranked at the bottom of the standings in Pool A with a 2:8 win/loss record; right at the start of their campaign in the European League, Croatia and Great Britain crossed their ways in Sheffield where the Britons stormed back from two sets down to claim the first game at the tie-break before losing the second in straight sets.
Head coach Radovan Malevic will have to cope with the absence of all major stars such as Igor Omrcen, Toni Kovacevic and Andjelko Cuk but he is still quite optimistic, although he shows his respect for the British team. “They have been preparing for almost 4 years for the 2012 Olympics in London. They have a few excellent players with great jumping skills. I am sure we’ll have very interesting matches in Osijek. We are currently in the process of monitoring and testing quite many players to prepare the team for the future and we have been using the European League as a good way to prepare for the Olympic Qualifications coming up this fall. I hope that the tournament that we’ll play in November will also take place here in Osijek” said Malevic.
The guests from the UK are expected to arrive on Thursday, two days before the first match

Countdown for DOL in Vienna

Only twenty-four hours are left before the Drawing of Lots for the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League gets started in Vienna, with the Uniqa Tower playing host to this event – which is part of the traditional European Volleyball Gala – for the second consecutive year. CEV President André Meyer will be joined for this very special evening by Austria’s Minister of National Defense and Sport, Norbert Darabos, as well as by Christian Oxonitsch, who is responsible for sports in the administration of Austria’s capital city.
The Gala which is set to start at 8 pm local time will be broadcast by ORF Sport+ as well as via Internet by CEV partner www.laola1.tv

This year the European Volleyball Gala and the DOL for the next edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League will turn into a perfect lead up for the EuroVolley 2011 which will be running through September 10-18 in Austria and the Czech Republic. Right after the DOL the organizers of the EuroVolley 2011 – whose Organizing Committee is chaired, for Austria, by the President of the Austrian Volleyball Federation, Mr. Peter Kleinmann – will present the official anthem of the much awaited European Championship, which is supposed to turn into the real Volleyball event of the year.
The DOL will be carried out by CEV Vice President and European Cups Commission (ECC) President Riet Ooms as per the principles outlined in the Official Regulations, i.e. with a combination of seeding and drawing, taking into consideration the European Ranking List issued for the 2012 European Cups season.
Make sure you tune in and you won’t miss any single second of the kick-off for what stands out as Europe’s most elitist competition!

Click here for a detailed TV schedule

Russian top teams claim honors in Obninsk

The third stop of Russia’s Beach Volleyball tour came to a close this past Sunday in Obninsk, Kaluga Region, at the premises of the Olympic preparatory school named after Alexander Savin. Mr. Savin attended the matches scheduled for the last day of action, stating that the organization of this event was to be perceived as a great honor for his sports school and the city of Obninsk.
The home girls Anna Vozakova and Ekaterina Khomyakova were eventually able to add another title to their impressive showcase of domestic competitions.
In the semis Vozakova/Khomyakova played a great derby with Anna Alova/Alexandra Moiseeva; Vozakova and Khomyakova literally dominated the opening set before they relaxed a bit, nevertheless avoiding stretching the game to a risky tie-break. The second semi was pretty one-sided, with Galina Boyko/Olga Motrich from the Moscow Region asserting their dominance against Viktoriya Biryukova and Anna Markova representing the Volleyball club “Dinamo-Yantar” from Kaliningrad.
However, the final game turned into a match to be remembered and for quite many reasons. Khomyakova and Vozakova clipped the first set pretty easy, but as the second just got started a thunder – accompanied by lightning and even some hail – suddenly hit the city of Obninsk. The Referee Manager decided to stop the game and this break of 30 minutes eventually helped Boyko/Motrich who totally dominated the scene in set 2.
Khomyakova and Vozakova got back their best play for the tie-break where they were cheered by their many home fans that did not leave the stands in spite of the demanding weather conditions. Vozakova and Khomyakova stamped a comfortable 15-7 to extend their domination in Russian competitions.
After crossing their ways in the quali – as they had registered very late for this event after representing Russia at the World Championships in Rome – Russia’s best pairs, Pastukhov/Likholetov and Barsouk/Yutvalin lined up for the final game in Obninsk.
After a splendid game, Pastukhov and Likholetov got revenge for their defeat in the qualification avoiding unforced errors to claim their first tournament together with the score of 26-24, 21-18. Although they are real rivals on the court, these pairs are close friends and are representing the same club, the “VC Birds”.
Bronze went to Andrey Belov/Ruslan Dayanov from St. Petersburg, originally the first seeded pair of the tournament in Obninsk, while the women’s podium was completed by Anna Alova and 2006 European champion Alexandra Moiseeva (née Shiryaeva).
The competition in Obninsk ended with the awards ceremony attended by many local officials; the winners received a check of 60,000 rubles (around 1,500 €) as well as 400 points for the Russian ranking list.
The next stop of the Russian tour will run through next July 28-31 in Zelenogradsk, Kaliningrad Region, combined with the fourth leg of the inaugural EEVZA Beach Volleyball Tour.

Countdown for DOL in Vienna

Only twenty-four hours are left before the Drawing of Lots for the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League gets started in Vienna, with the Uniqa Tower playing host to this event – which is part of the traditional European Volleyball Gala – for the second consecutive year. CEV President André Meyer will be joined for this very special evening by Austria’s Minister of National Defense and Sport, Norbert Darabos, as well as by Christian Oxonitsch, who is responsible for sports in the administration of Austria’s capital city.
The Gala which is set to start at 8 pm local time will be broadcast by ORF Sport+ as well as via Internet by CEV partner www.laola1.tv

This year the European Volleyball Gala and the DOL for the next edition of the CEV Volleyball Champions League will turn into a perfect lead up for the EuroVolley 2011 which will be running through September 10-18 in Austria and the Czech Republic. Right after the DOL the organizers of the EuroVolley 2011 – whose Organizing Committee is chaired, for Austria, by the President of the Austrian Volleyball Federation, Mr. Peter Kleinmann – will present the official anthem of the much awaited European Championship, which is supposed to turn into the real Volleyball event of the year.
The DOL will be carried out by CEV Vice President and European Cups Commission (ECC) President Riet Ooms as per the principles outlined in the Official Regulations, i.e. with a combination of seeding and drawing, taking into consideration the European Ranking List issued for the 2012 European Cups season.
Make sure you tune in and you won’t miss any single second of the kick-off for what stands out as Europe’s most elitist competition!

Click here for a detailed TV schedule

2012 CEV Volleyball Cup & 2012 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup

The Drawing of Lots for the 2012 CEV Volleyball Cup and the 2012 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup is quickly approaching as the draws for the campaign that is set to start next October will be determined on Saturday, June 25, during a plenary session of the European Cups Commission (ECC). The DOL will start at 9 am and detailed results shall be made available on the CEV homepage at around noon.
The list of the participating teams will be finalized by the European Cups Commission chaired by CEV Vice President Mrs. Riet Ooms only a few hours before the DOL as all files and applications submitted by the National Federations will be checked again by the ECC members.
A tentative calendar for the 2012 European Cups is available
here

Croatia's national teams want to stop negative streak in Osijek

This coming weekend the city of Osijek will play host to Croatia’s national teams as they play their respective matches for the fifth leg in the prelims of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League. The guys will play their neighbors from Slovenia, i.e. the undisputed leaders of Pool A, while the group mentored by Irina Kirillova will try to claim its first victory in this campaign by testing the likes of Romania. All games will be played in the splendid “Gradski vrt” sports hall which has a capacity of 3,500 spectators. After four rounds of play Croatia’s men have only one win while the girls are still winless. As they are currently at the bottom of the standings in their respective Pools, Croatia’s national teams hope to stop this negative streak in Osijek, also to properly celebrate the Independence Day which is coming up this Saturday there in Croatia.
The girls around Kirillova will play Romania on Saturday and Sunday after losing their previous games in Constanta.
“They are an excellent team and have been really improving in the past couple of years since Darko Zakoc started training the group. However, we want to go for a victory as this is essential for our self-confidence” states Croatian player Nikolina Kovacic.
Once again Croatia will be missing its main international stars like Maja Poljak, Senna Usic Jogunica and Sanja Popovic. “This is why we haven’t gotten good results so far, but we still work hard and train as if we were preparing for the final game of the Olympics” says Marijo Baselovic, the assistant coach of Irina Kirillova.
Croatia’s men have only one win so far in the prelims of the European League. More than 3 weeks ago the guys mentored by Radovan Malevic won their second game with Great Britain in Sheffield. Two weeks ago they suffered a double defeat to Slovenia in Maribor and now they want to go for revenge. “I am sure these will be very interesting matches and we’ll have a real Volleyball festival in Osijek. Of course we go for a victory but most of all I want to see good games against an excellent team” says Malevic.
And this time the home group will be more than happy to be joined by Igor Omrcen, the captain of Lube Banca Marche MACERATA and the major international star of Croatian Volleyball nowadays.

CEV Board determines administrative fees for transfers

This past weekend in Serbia’s capital city the members of the CEV Board of Administration approved a series of provisions that determine the maximum amounts to be paid as pure administrative fees to National Federations in order to obtain an international transfer certificate (ITC). This applies only and exclusively to transfers involving European players moving to one of the 55 National Federations affiliated to the CEV.
A series of principles were adopted by the CEV Board of Administration and namely:
- Players aged 40 and over shall not be subject to the payment of any administrative fees;
- Maximum amounts to be paid are pre-defined by the CEV taking into consideration a series of criteria, such as: 
For the fees to be paid to the Federation of Origin:
• The player’s age;
• His/her inclusion in the roster of the national team;
• The number of seasons the player has already spent playing for (a) club(s) not belonging to his/her Federation of Origin;
• The category his/her Federation of Origin belongs to as per the groups defined by the CEV;
• The division where the club the player is moving to is competing;
• The category the Receiving Federation belongs to as per the groups defined by the CEV.

For the fees to be paid to the Receiving Federation:

• The division the club the player is moving to is competing in;
• The category the Receiving Federation belongs to as per the groups defined by the CEV.

The amounts determined by the CEV are to be seen as a maximum fee to be paid to the Federation of Origin and the Receiving Federation respectively; as they are involved in international transfers of their players, the National Federations may determine different amounts to be paid but always without exceeding the threshold defined by the CEV.


The European Volleyball Confederation would like to inform all parties (players, clubs and National Federations) that this rule is not retroactive and therefore the provisions listed above will be applied starting from next June 24, 2011.


Click
here for the classification of the 55 National Federations affiliated to the CEV

Click
here for the detailed regulations determining the administrative fees for transfers

With terrific performance Serbia literally demolishes France in second game of the weekend

After going through a real marathon on Saturday, this afternoon the girls of Serbia were on a class of their own and totally dominated the second game with France which was played – once again – in front of full stands in Subotica. Jovana Brakocevic was the real match winner for the home side while France could simply not resist to the terrific tempo imposed by the 2009 and 2010 European League champions.
Spain scored its second win of the prelims reversing the outcome of yesterday’s game with Greece while Romania did not leave any chance to the Belarusian girls of head coach Viktar Hancharou who really disappointed their home fans in Minsk by losing their second game against Nneka Onyejekwe & Co. in straight sets.

Greece's national teams hope for full stands as they debut in Pyrgos

This afternoon the local organizers of the home matches that Greece’s national teams will play this weekend in Pyrgos with Spain organized a press conference in the local Town Hall to discuss and share some feelings with the media. “We have decided to play here in Pyrgos and bring here the national teams for the first time because this city has an excellent gym” stated Costas Vlassis, member of the Board of Administration of the Hellenic Volleyball Federation. “However, we will also need quite many fans to achieve our goal of a memorable Volleyball weekend” he added.
“Although they play a much different Volleyball, Spain is equivalent to our last opponent, the Netherlands” says the head coach of the men’s team, Alekos Leonis. “We hope to go for a couple of good performances and wins here in Pyrgos”. “Even though we know that they are a very good team, we want to defeat the Spaniards” continues captain Nikolaos Roumeliotis. “We will show our strength, passion and fighting spirit”.
“We want to see many fans in the hall” adds the mentor of Greece’s women’s national team, Dimitris Floros. “Our team is improving set after set”. “Our group has been gradually improving and we hope to combine here good performances with positive results” stresses captain Nikoletta Koutouxidou.

2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women

After checking the files and applications submitted by their respective National Federations, the European Volleyball Confederation has retained a total of 20 clubs that will be joining the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women. The starting field for the next campaign includes:

Rabita BAKU (AZE)
Azerrail BAKU (AZE)
VK Modranska PROSTEJOV (CZE)
RC CANNES (FRA)
ASPTT MULHOUSE (FRA)
SCHWERINER SC (GER)
DRESDNER SC (GER)
Volley BERGAMO (ITA)
MC-Carnaghi VILLA CORTESE (ITA)
Scavolini PESARO (ITA)
Atom Trefl SOPOT (POL)
Bank BPS Fakro MUSZYNA (POL)
2004 Tomis CONSTANTA (ROU)
Dinamo KAZAN (RUS)
Dinamo MOSCOW (RUS)
Crvena Zvezda BEOGRAD (SRB)
Voléro ZÜRICH (SUI)
FenerbahceAcibadem ISTANBUL (TUR)
VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL (TUR)
Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL (TUR)

The Drawing of Lots for the League Round will be staged next July 1 at the Uniqa Tower in Vienna in combination with the European Volleyball Gala. The five rookies of Europe’s finest club competition are Russia's sensation Dinamo KAZAN, Poland’s Atom Trefl SOPOT, Romania’s 2004 Tomis CONSTANTA, plus SCHWERINER SC and DRESDNER SC that will be representing Germany.

Spanish Volleyball supports victims of Lorca earthquake

As some matches were taking place this past weekend for the start of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European League, the Spanish Volleyball family wanted to express its support to the victims affected by the earthquake that hit the city of Lorca two weeks ago and which resulted in the death of nine people.
The city of Valladolid held some special actions in support for the tragedy. During the matches of CEV European League that took place in Valladolid this weekend, the men’s national team showed a banner that read “Spanish Volleyball with Lorca”.
In addition to this, the Spanish national team also wanted to show the support in another of the big events of the weekend, “El Dia del Pequevoley”. This event is a meeting assembling all Volleyball grassroots programs of the city that was attended by 400 boys and girls in a day of celebration of the sport. The national team visited the event and posed there with all participants.
A charity match will be held in Murcia next June 11 to raise funds to help the victims of the earthquake in Lorca. The city of Murcia also suffered an earthquake that caused 9 casualties and destroyed the city.

Czech Volleyball family looks forward to home Championship

As previously announced, the premises of the Czech Television played host this morning to a press conference organized by the national Organizing Committee of the EuroVolley 2011 that was attended by the highest officials of the Czech Volleyball family – including President Zdenek Hanik and CEV Vice President Jan Hronek – together with the head coach of the men’s national team, Jan Svoboda, as well as by Czech Volleyball star Jan Stokr, who some 2 weeks ago added to an already fantastic season - including the 2010 FIVB Club World Championship in Doha and the 2011 CEV Champions League – also Italy’s national league being voted MVP of the final game in Rome. Stokr was joined there by the captain of the Czech national team, Ondrej Hudecek, while Lord Mayor Petr Kulhanek represented the city of Karlovy Vary that will host the prelims as well as the second round of the EuroVolley 2011.

CEV President chairs EEVZA General Assembly in St. Petersburg

Τhe Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA) staged yesterday its annual General Assembly in presence of CEV President André Meyer and CEV Vice President Jan Hronek who is responsible for the coordination of the activities carried out by the four Zonal Associations operating under the umbrella of the CEV. The General Assembly was chaired by EEVZA President Vladimir Patkin of Russia, with the participation of the highest officials of all member Federations, including EEVZA Vice Presidents Miroslaw Przedpelski of Poland and Maris Pekalis (Latvia).
CEV President André Meyer opened the working session by summing up the main projects recently implemented by the European Volleyball Confederation and by sharing some details about the XXXII CEV General Assembly coming up next September in Vienna in combination with the EuroVolley 2011.
As for the EEVZA, the financial condition of the affiliated Federations and of the Zonal Association as well was one of the “hottest” topics included in the agenda.
This year the EEVZA has been able to set up a Beach Volleyball Tour that just started in early May in Anapa, so that it was necessary to update the competition schedule as well as the budget foreseen for the running season.
Specific regulations were adopted for the Beach Volleyball Tour, for the EEVZA U18 Beach Volleyball Championship and for the youth and junior indoor competitions. The budget for the 2012 season was also presented by EEVZA Secretary General Inara Brokane and a discussion followed about the financial support to be allocated to the organizers of the various EEVZA competitions. The date and venue for the next General Assembly were also fixed: in 2012 the EEVZA will get together in Lithuania in May.
Finally CEV President André Meyer opened a round table to listen to the voice of the various National Federations to figure out any problem affecting their plans and activities and identify the eventual support to be provided by the CEV.
The Russian Volleyball Federation organized for all participants a sightseeing tour of St. Petersburg, which is unanimously considered one of Russia’s most fascinating cities.

Serbia and Bulgaria display shows of strength to back up their ambitions to make it to the Worlds

Bulgaria and Serbia, i.e. the silver and bronze medalists from last year’s CEV Junior European Championship, are on a good track to claim a spot to represent Europe at the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship scheduled for early August in Brazil. Bulgaria impressed this afternoon in Sofia with a terrific show of strength to outclass Denmark while Serbia also needed only three sets in Mogilev to cruise past the young boys from Latvia. Spain is also on a good way to make it to Rio de Janeiro after the group around Francisco José Ruiz shut Portugal in straight sets this afternoon to maintain the leadership of Pool C with only one round of play still to go. In Spergau the hosts of Germany went through a long and exhausting five setter to have the upper hand against Estonia while Italy overpowered Greece with a 3:0 to get the right confidence for the next games coming up this weekend.

Click
here for more information, including detailed statistics and standings
Click here for a picture gallery

Serbia and Russia extend winning streak at home tournaments

With Serbia and Russia having added two more wins to their count at the respective home tournaments being currently held in Zrenjanin and Moscow, Belgium and Croatia opened their campaign in Pool B on a high note with a couple of classy performances to edge the Czech Republic and Romania respectively. Some more days of intense actions are left before the five tickets available to represent Europe at the 2011 FIVB Junior World Championship in Peru are distributed to the winners of the four Pools and the best among all second ranked across all groups that will join 2010 European champion, Italy.

Click
here for more information, including detailed statistics

Click
here for a picture gallery

Pool A in Zrenjanin (SRB)


Poland vs. Portugal 3:0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-16)


As they debuted in Zrenjanin this afternoon, the girls from Poland easily overpowered Portugal 3:0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-16) in 70 minutes of play. It was an equal and balanced match only until the first technical time-out of the opening set. After that, Poland gained a 7-point advantage (16:9) and maintained the distance all the way through until the end. The second set was the most interesting one as the Portuguese girls raised the level of their game while the Polish team slowed down a little bit and let their rivals keep the pace. It was a neck-to-neck race until the score stood at 20:19 for Poland. After that Portugal couldn’t keep up and Poland went up 2:0 in sets after the partial result of 5:0. The third set was pretty much the same as the first one. Poland went up 8:5 at the first technical time-out, and widened the margin (16:10) at the second mandatory stop. After that, it was a matter of routine for the Polish team to wrap it up for an impeccable 3:0 victory. “The first match is always difficult, so I am happy with this maximum victory” said Poland head coach Grzegorz Kosatka. “We played better than we did yesterday. We are inexperienced in international competitions and we try to use these matches to learn and further improve” added Portugal mentor Gilda Harris Sarria. The most efficient player for Poland was Zuzana Czyznielewska with 15 points, followed by Ewelina Mikolajewska with 13. The best scorers for Portugal were Marta Hurst and Joana Polido with 6 points apiece.


Greece vs. Serbia 0:3 (21-25, 12-25, 3-25)


Only 67 minutes were needed by the home girls of Serbia, the reigning European silver medalists, to clip their second win in Zrenjanin in a match officiated by two female referees, Sorina Niculescu of Romania and Rudina Omari (Albania). The beginning of the match was actually favorable for the guests as they started to play with great passion and enthusiasm and surprised the hosts of the tournament. Greece was leading all the time, but Serbia chased down the result and managed to come close at 20:21. After that the hosts scored 5 consecutive points for the 1:0 lead in sets. In the second set, right after the first technical time-out at 8:6 for Serbia, Greece’s receiver Panagiota Dioti got injured. This unfortunate accident heavily influenced the rest of the match. Serbia quickly managed to go up 2:0 in sets. The third set was disastrous for Greece as they managed to win only 3 points. “This is a great victory for us. We have proved once again that we belong to the best teams in the world. I am especially happy with the way we finished the match, letting our rivals score only 3 points in the set. But it is not over yet, we have to remain firmly on the ground and win the upcoming matches” said Ana Bjelica. “We started the match very well, and we were looking good. Unfortunately, the injury of our best player Panagiota Dioti was too much for us. We simply couldn’t recover” said Greece mentor Apostolos Oikonomou.

The most efficient player for the Serbian team was Ana Bjelica with 16 points followed by Maja Savic with 12. Aikaterini Altini totaled 6 points for Greece.

Pool B in Novalja (CRO)


With a stellar performance of Lise van Hecke and Laura Heyrman who scored 20 and 18 points respectively, Belgium – with a group comprising most of the girls who two years ago were crowned youth European champions – opened their campaign in Novalja by beating the Czech Republic, bronze medalist at last year’s CEV Junior European Championship, in four sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 25-18).

Some 1,000 fans were to be seen in attendance as the home girls of Croatia stamped a classy 3:0 win (25-22, 28-26, 25-15) over Romania to open their quest for a ticket to join the 2011 FIVB Junior World Champs coming up this July in Peru. Samanta Fabris top scored for the home side with 16 points with two more girls finishing in double digits, Karla Klaric and Tea Juric with 10 apiece.

Pool C in Moscow (RUS)


The home girls of Russia claimed this afternoon at the “Luch” sports complex what was supposed to be the deciding match to determine the final standings of Pool C. Russia defeated Germany, i.e. the fourth-placed team at last year’s CEV Junior European Championship in Serbia, in straight sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-15) to pre-book a ticket for the 2011 FIVB Junior World Championship scheduled for this coming July in Peru. Russia opened the game with a strong performance of all attackers and pretty easily claimed the first set 25-19. The next two sets followed a similar plot with Germany hoping for Russia to commit some mistakes to get back into the game. However, this was not the case and Russia sailed comfortably to the final 3:0. Anastasia Bavykina top scored for the home side with 16 points while Julia Hero contributed 9 to the count of Germany.


The operations in Moscow were opened by the game starring Finland and Denmark with the “Suomis” stamping their second victory in as many matches. This time Finlad was able to clip a lead of 4-5 right in the opening of each set to speed up the rhythm and stamp impressive scores (25-12, 25-12, 25-19). Two players squeezed in with 10 points apiece, Mira Hämäläinen and Noora Kosonen, with Julie Guldager Jensen totaling the same for Denmark.

EEVZA organizes special courses for youth coaches in Riga

Some classes specifically conceived for Volleyball coaches working with the youth age group were staged this past weekend in Riga, Latvia, by the Eastern European Volleyball Zonal Association (EEVZA). Specialists from Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia were invited to lecture there with the classes being attended by a total of 95 participants from 5 EEVZA countries (Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia).
The course was held at the sports complex of the School № 49 in Riga and opened by Mrs. Olga Verbova of Russia, a distinguished coach, who shared some tips about the preparation system she has been developing for the youth. A clinic about Volleyball techniques was staged by Mr. Sergey Garkusha, an Associate Professor at the Department of Physical Culture of the Chernihiv National Pedagogical University (Chernihiv, Ukraine), who is also closely working with Ukraine’s national teams.
Avo Keel, head coach of Estonia’s men’s national team that will compete this coming September at the EuroVolley 2011, provided the audience with some insights on the system of serve/reception, especially in order to improve that essential part of the game, while Dr. Pavels Mustafins, Chief of Sports Medicine from Riga, discussed items related to sports injuries and to the first aid to be provided in such cases.
Mr. Boriss Kolcins, a Latvian coach with experience in the Russian and Italian national leagues, completed the panel of the lecturers with his intervention devoted to the analysis of some tactics to be applied in attack and defense.
The participants were all extremely happy with the contents provided by the course but also with the opportunity they had to meet colleagues from neighboring countries and exchange ideas and experiences during the clinic.

Cyprus wins Small Countries Division final round in Andorra

Cyprus dominated once again the scene at the final round of the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Small Countries Division that was organized this past weekend in the Principality of Andorra. Normally considered the pre-favorite for any event specifically conceived for the Small Countries, Cyprus had a flawless run there in Andorra clipping four games in a row to bring home the title. However, it was not that easy on Sunday as Cyprus and Luxembourg crossed their ways to determine who would have come out on top of the standings and there the Cypriot side around captain Nikos Kolas needed five long sets (25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-8) before cruising past the guys mentored by Burkhard Disch.
Top scorer of this game was Gabriel Georgiou with 16 points but a good help came also from Serbian-born Vladimir Knezevic and Angelos Alexiou who totaled 13 apiece.
The hosts of Andorra were more than happy with their bronze medals that were basically “safe” after clipping their games with Scotland and Iceland in straight sets. They also put up good resistance in the matches with Cyprus and Luxembourg but were eventually defeated 1:3 by the winners and runner-ups of the competition.
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Home party for Turkey's girls and more than 4,000 fans

It was the night everyone had dreamed of since weeks here in Turkey, with a group of young girls – mostly training at the Volleyball school founded only a couple of years ago by the local Federation – writing history for this country and claiming the first gold medal in history and in any age group. Turkey played the perfect game tonight in front of more than 4,000 fans at the “Baskent” sports hall and did not leave any chance to the Italians of Caterina Bosetti. Bronze went to Serbia that needed four sets to cruise past Germany and add some more glory to the many international achievements obtained by this country in recent international competitions, including the gold medal claimed only two weeks ago by the boys here in Ankara.

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Final standings

1. Turkey
2. Italy
3. Serbia
4. Germany
5. Poland
6. Slovakia
7. Spain
8. Greece
9. Slovenia
10. Belgium
11. Czech Republic
12. Ukraine

The top six are qualified for the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship; the teams ranked from 1 to 8 will also compete at the European Youth Olympic Festival scheduled for next July 23-29 in Trabzon, Turkey.

Individual Awards

MVP: Ece Hocaoglu (TUR)
Best Blocker: Mina Popovic (SRB)
Best Libero: Dilara Bagci (TUR)
Best Receiver: Caterina Bosetti (ITA)
Best Scorer: Jennifer Geerties (GER)
Best Server: Seyma Ercan (TUR)
Best Setter: Chiara Scacchetti (ITA)
Best Spiker: Elena Perinelli (ITA)

Final match

Turkey vs. Italy 3:0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19)
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