Czech Republic and Bulgaria clinch World Grand Prix berths for the first time – Volleyball News
Women’s national volleyball teams from Czech Republic and Bulgaria have achieved a milestone by securing tickets to the World Grand Prix for the first time in history. The two European squads will make their first appearance at the FIVB Volleyball World
Grand Prix in 2013.
They qualified for the women’s premier international volleyball competition after reaching the finals of the 2012 CEV European League on Thursday, July 5. Czech Republic played host to the influential semi-finals of the tournament in Karlovy Vary. Home team
received enough support from local fans to overcome three-time European champions Serbia. Ladies around Head Coach Carlo Parisi showed the ambition for better status and held off visiting Serbs for 3-1 victory in a four-set affair. Around 2,600 spectators
watched the live action of volleyball the KV arena in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
“I am very happy that we won, The Netherlands are a very good team. We really prepared this match so I am very pleased with this result, because we did everything we had to beat them,” said Czech captain, Helena Havelkova.
On the other hand, Bulgaria women’s national volleyball caused a surprising upset in the other semi-final match of the European League that also took place in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. Bulgaria launched power over Serbian counterparts and claimed the
match in four sets.
After beating Serbia, the Bulgarian team not only qualified for the second time ever for a CEV European League final, but also secured a spot in the upcoming edition of FIVB Women’s World Grand Prix for the first time. It was like a double-prize for Bulgaria.
The Serbs tried many different tactics to stop Bulgaria from going into the final match, but Marcello Abbondanza’s team stole the show.
The 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix will receive a total of sixteen teams from all across the globe. Czech Republic and Bulgaria have already confirmed their participation in the next edition of the tournament, while rest of the teams will be finalised before
the start of competition. The Federation International de Volleyball (FIVB) is supposed to announce the schedule and venue of the next edition of the World Grand Prix.
Tags: