Sofia, Bulgaria, April 18, 2017. Russia and Bulgaria are the two teams from Pool I to qualify for the semifinals of 2018 CEV U17 Volleyball European Championship – Women. The Russian team needed 67 minutes to seize a victory over Hungary and this way to secure their spot in the semis of the competition and Bulgaria started well in their match vs. Serbia and despite having lost the third set, the players of Stojan Gunchev took a 3-1 win. Russia meet the team of Turkey in a battle for a place in the final, while Bulgaria will have to play with the unbeaten favorite from Pool II - Italy. On Wednesday, Slovenia took a very important win over Belarus (3-1) to continue their journey at the #EuroVolleyU17W after making sure they will finish among the top eight teams from the competition. 

Belarus vs. Slovenia 1-3 (25-27, 22-25, 25-20, 19-25)

•    With the result being 18-22 in the first set, Darya Sauchuk from Belarus got injured and was replaced by Victoryia Tychynina. Although Belarus saved six set points  in a row to make the score equal (24-24, 25-25) eventually Slovenia closed the set at 27-25. 
•    Neither Belarus, nor Slovenia were giving up in the second part, following each other constantly in the score. The players around Dzmitry Kot were leading as the set was unfolding but they couldn’t keep their lead and somehow fell apart. The Slovenians took advantage of it and turned things in their favour, thus doubling their lead in the match. 
•    The players of Belarus were able to take the third set, but Slovenia reacted well in the fourth one and despite the fact that the teams exchanged the lead constantly, Slovenia claimed an all-important win that secures them a spot among the best eight teams in Europe.

Dzmitry Kot, head coach of Belarus: “Our aims were different here at #EuroVolleyU17W but we couldn’t achieve them. My players were nervous. We have to work a lot in order to improve but we have the potential. Life goes on.”

Boris Klokocovnik, head coach of Slovenia: “It was a very important match for both teams because we knew that the winners would stay here, while the others would go home. It was a nervous match indeed. We played good today but in some moments of the sets the pressure was too high. Now we will be waiting to know who our opponents on Friday will be.”

Russia vs. Hungary 3-0 (25-21, 25-4, 25-22)

•    Hungary took a small advantage in the beginning (9-6) but Russia changed their pace afterwards. Despite that, the Hungarians were breathing down their necks, before the Russian girls emerged victorious (25-21).
•    Team Russia started in the best possible way in the second set (12-1) as they weren’t giving any chances to their opponents to respond.  The service of Alexandra Murushkina made it really difficult for the Hungarians. Murushkina and her teammates’ play was just excellent (24-3) and they deservedly closed the set at 25-4. 
•    Some good blocking game helped the Hungarians take the lead in the third set – the result was 8-3 in their favour by the first technical timeout.  The players headed by Gabor Konig kept on scoring (12-6) and Russia coach Svetlana Safronova had to take a timeout. Russia got closer and eventually came back to secure a 3-0 win.

Svetlana Safronova, head coach of Russia: “We played well today and in the second set we showed that we can find a way to play our game. Russia likes to play like this – for the victory, being focused! Tomorrow is a rest day, we will motivate the players for the upcoming matches.”

Gabor Konig, head coach of Hungary: “Russia is a very strong team, they proved it. I would like to forget that this second set happened – my players seemed to be afraid but they showed in the other two sets that they can play vs. some very tall players – we lost at 21 and 22. #EuroVolleyU17W was a great experience for us, I really believe that this generation of young players that participated in this tournament has a bright future. Qualifying here was our biggest achievement but we will keep on working.”

Viktória Adrienn Sziládi, player of Hungary: “Being here was a great experience for all of us and I think it will be a great memory. We really enjoyed it and we will keep on improving.” 

Serbia vs. Bulgaria 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25)

•    The Bulgarian Lionesses opened the match winning the first set with a comfortable point difference from six points. 
•    Bulgaria was leading at 16-10 in the second part but then the Serbians managed to get closer to the score. The players around Stojan Gunchev got back on their feet and with some good play on the net took a 2-0 set advantage. 
•    Serbia performed better in the third part of the match and were leading during the entire set, not allowing their opponents to control the play.
•    A great opening by the girls of Jovo Cakovic marked the first minutes of the fourth as they took a four points lead at 4-0.  The atmosphere in Hristo Botev sports hall was amazing by that time as home supporters were cheering up for their favorites but fans of Serbia weren’t missing neither. The play went point-for-a-point as the spectators were enjoying some long Volleyball rallies but eventually Bulgaria put an end to the Volleyball battle winning 3-1.

Stojan Gunchev, head coach of Bulgaria: “We are very happy and satisfied with this victory. I think that today we made our best match, event better than the one vs. Russia. The girls followed the tactic I wanted them to play with and fortunately we are among the best four teams now.”

Maria Yordanova, player of Bulgaria: “ We knew that we had to win in this match. A win here means a lot since we play in the semifinals. We will fight for a medal.”

Jovo Cakovic, head coach of Serbia: “Congratulations to the team of Bulgaria. They played really well, they made only a small number of errors on service. They were perfect in everything and it is difficult to play against such strong team.”