Czech Republic claims its first European League title – Volleyball News
After an incredibly close competition in the final match of 2012 CEV Women’s European Volleyball League on Friday, the hosts Czech Republic managed to secure the European League title and became the second team after Serbia to have this honour.
Czech Republic was challenged by Bulgaria in the final test of skills at the KV arena in Karlovy Vary. The home teams totally profited from familiar conditions and stamped 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-23) win over visitors from Bulgaria. Around 3,800 spectators
witnessed the thrilling encounter in the arena, while many others watched the action on their television screens.
Local team was immensely supported by Aneta Havlickova, who added match-high 18 points. She was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match.
Bulgaria’s Elitsa Vasileva put up valiant effort for her team. She added team-high 15 points, in the loss.
The final showdown of the tournament started out on a high note and both teams showed quality in serves and attack. The scoring remained tight, but Bulgaria managed to build two-point lead at the first technical timeout. Hosts responded well and flipped
the score at the next TTO. Czech Republic went up and tried to keep the lead in hand. Nevertheless, the see-saw battle continued and Bulgaria frequently traded lead with the hosts. Eventually, home side put an end to the affair and secured opening stanza at
26-24.
Second set progressed in the similar fashion, while scoreboard experienced a lot variation. However, Czech ladies strengthened their grip on the ball after the second technical timeout. They played fast and jumped on every little opportunity to score points.
As a result, second set came successful for hosts and they extended their lead to 2-0.
Bulgaria did almost everything to save the crucial third set, but ambitious Czechs crushed their hopes. Home captured third set at 25-23 and won the final match 3-0.
Winning head coach of Czech Republic, Carlo Parisi said: “My players were exceptional today. We had the victory in mind at all times, and gave a great performance, even in the difficult moments of the game; we are very happy for this result”.
Meanwhile, Aneta Havlickova of Czech Republic thanked the local fans for their great support and back-up during the match. She expressed her emotions in the following statement: “They have helped us so much, and I cannot say anything but thank you very much!
I just hope that this victory is only the beginning of our success story and that next year we can continue the same way.”
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