Serbia claims last semi-final spot of 2011 CEV European Championship – Women
The Serbian women's volleyball team demonstrated a stellar performance against Poland in the quarter-final match of 2011 CEV European Women’s Volleyball Championship on Thursday, September 29. The crucial quarter-final match for the last semi-final spot
was held in Belgrade, Serbia. The hosts cruised past to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 26-24) victory and joined the top-four squads of the tournament. A totally sold out SC Pionir hall in Belgrade echoed the victory slogans of passionate home fans. Serbia now scheduled
to take on Turkey in the semi-final contest on Saturday.
Poland's Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata was named the best scorer of the match. She notched 21 kills, while the Serbian middle blocker Milena Rasic topped the scorers on her side with 14 points.
With the stupendous support of around 3,100 fans in the competition hall, the Serbian team opened the game on the right foot. They served with Natasha Krsmanovic, who supplied plenty of power to the ball and helped her team to take a 8-5 lead at the first
technical timeout. Polish ladies suffered the set-back due to an early strike from the Serbs and lagged behind. The hosts remained highly focused on target and rallied past from 10-5 to 14-8. Serbian players attacked well and controlled the flow of scores
in the match. In the 22nd minute of the game, Anita Kwiatkowska delivered an unstoppable spike and achieved the set points, 25-14.
Following their success in the opening match, the Serbian ladies kept the momentum going in the second set. Poles managed to connect in the beginning of the set, but saw their hopes vanishing as Serbia started the hard-hitting. Serbia enjoyed the lead and
put more pressure on the opponent. They kept making shocking waves with an exquisite display of volleys. Serbian setter, Maja Ognjenovic, actively participated in the game and led her team to a 25-20 victory in the second set.
However, Poland did not give up its efforts and jumped to a 4-1 lead in the third set. Meanwhile, Serbia hit back aggressively and managed to catch up with the Polish team. The third set saw several ties but eventually Serbia finished the match by winning te
last set.
Jelena Nikolic, the Serbian captain, congratulated her team and all others who supported Serbia throughout this tournament. She seemed quite determined about the next match against Turkey. She stated that the quarter-final victory meant a lot to them and
they are ready for Turkey now.
Her Polish counterpart, Captain Milena Maria Radecka, also congratulated Serbia for their victory. She praised Serbia’s impressive serves and solid blocks and said: "I’m sad for losing, but I wish the Serbian players good luck in the semi-finals.”
“I want to congratulate the Serbian team and I wish them good luck fighting for the medals. We made too many unforced errors tonight. That’s why we finally lost, showing that we were not prepared enough. Once again, I wish Serbia all the best in the semi-finals,”
said Poland’s head coach Alojzy Swiderek.
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