Νέα ήττα για την Εθνική βόλεϊ των γυναικών

Δεν τα κατάφερε και τόσο καλά η Εθνική ομάδα βόλεϊ των γυναικών. Το αντιπροσωπευτικό συγκρότημα έχασε με 3-1 σετ από τη Σερβία την Κυριακή, στο πλαίσιο της δεύτερης αγωνιστικής του πρώτου ομίλου του Ευρωπαϊκού Λιγκ, που διεξάγεται στη Σουμπότιτσα και μείωσε τις ελπίδες του για την πρόκριση στην επόμενη φάση της διοργάνωσης. Οι παίκτριες του Γιώργου Λυκούδη ήταν καλύτερες στο πρώτο σετ, στο οποίο και επικράτησαν, όμως στα υπόλοιπα μέτρησε η κλάση των Σερβίδων, που κέρδισαν την αναμέτρηση. Τα σετ: 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20 Στον άλλο αγώνα του ομίλου, η Βουλγαρία νίκησε εντός έδρας την Ισπανία με 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 30-28).
Η ΒΑΘΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ (σε 2 αγώνες):
1. Σερβία 6-1 4
2. Ισπανία 4-3 3
3. Βουλγαρία 3-4 3
4. Ελλάδα 1-6 2

Ποδαρικό με ήττα στη Σερβία η Εθνική

Οι διεθνείς μας προσπάθησαν αλλά δεν μπόρεσαν να αποφύγουν την ήττα με 3-0 σετ στη Σουμπότιτσα με τα δύο συγκροτήματα να ανανεώνουν το ραντεβού τους για την Κυριακή (24/05, 19:00) στο ίδιο γήπεδο.

Οι παίκτριες του Γιώργου Λυκούδη μπήκαν μάλλον μουδιασμένες στο παιχνίδι και έδωσαν το δικαίωμα στις Σέρβες να προηγηθούν με 4-1 και 7-2. Στη συνέχεια, όμως, βελτίωσαν αισθητά την υποδοχή και με σωστές επιλογές στην επίθεση έφεραν το παιχνίδι στα ίσια και λίγο αργότερα πήραν προβάδισμα μέχρι και με τρεις πόντους (12-15). Το ματς πήγε πόντο-πόντο μέχρι το 20-20, αλλά οι Σέρβες είχαν πιο καθαρό μυαλό και πήραν το σετ με 25-21. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί, πάντως, ότι σε ένα κρίσιμο σημείο για την εξέλιξη του σετ (στο 17-17) δόθηκε ένα αμφισβητούμενο μπλοκ άουτ εις βάρος της ελληνικής ομάδας, χάρη στο οποίο η γηπεδούχος ξαναπήρε το προβάδισμα στο σκορ.

Το δεύτερο σετ άρχισε με τις Σέρβες να αποκτούν από νωρίς ένα μικρό προβάδισμα (6-3), το οποίο οι Ελληνίδες παίκτριες δεν κατάφεραν να ροκανίσουν στην εξέλιξη του παιχνιδιού. Ύστερα από την πρόσκαιρη μείωση του σκορ σε 13-10, οι Σέρβες κυριάρχησαν πλήρως και εκμεταλλευόμενες τα λάθη της Εθνικής μας σε πάσα και υποδοχή, έφτασαν άνετα στο 2-0 (25-14).

Στο άλλο ματς του ομίλου:
Βουλγαρία-Ισπανία 0-3 σετ

Η Βαθμολογία (σε 1αγ.)
1. Σερβία (3-0) 2
2. Ισπανία (3-0) 2
----------------
3. Βουλγαρία (0-3) 1
4. Ελλάδα (0-3) 1

Πολύ καλύτερα άρχισε για την ελληνική ομάδα το τρίτο σετ, μια και με πολύ καλές επιδόσεις στο μπλοκ (τομέας στον οποίο δεν τα είχαν πάει καλά μέχρι εκείνη τη στιγμή) οι παίκτριες μας προηγήθηκαν 4-0. Ωστόσο, οι Σέρβες απάντησαν άμεσα και γρήγορα απέκτησαν τριών πόντων (12-9), το οποίο στη συνέχεια αύξησαν για να κατακτήσουν και το τρίτο σετ με σκορ 25-15.

Τα σετ: 25-21, 25-14, 25-15.

Σερβία: Νίκολιτς 15, Κρισμάνοβιτς 5, Μαϊστόροβιτς 13, Ογκνιένοβιτς 3, Βέλκοβιτς 5, Μπούρσατς 10, Πόποβιτς (λίμπερο – 59%) / Αντονίεβιτς, Πέτροβιτς 3, Ράσιτς, Σεβάρικα.

Ελλάδα: Κυριακίδου 3, Κουτουξίδου 1, Κιόση 6 (1 μπλοκ), Τζανακάκη 1 (1 μπλοκ), Χατζηνικολάου 11 (2 άσοι), Χαντάβα 3 (1 άσος), Μυλωνά (λίμπερο – 53%) / Καλαϊτζίεβα 7 (1 μπλοκ), Χρήστου 3 (1 μπλοκ), Μουζάκη, Τέζα, Παρασκευοπούλου.

---

Γιώργος Λυκούδης: «Ξέρουμε ότι τα παιχνίδια του European League είναι παιχνίδια στα οποία πρέπει να δοκιμάσουμε νέα κορίτσια, με τη στήριξη βέβαια κάποιων παλαιότερων αθλητριών. Στο σημερινό παιχνίδι δοκιμάσαμε όλες τις παίκτριες, με αρκετό χρόνο συμμετοχής για καθεμιά, για να αρχίσουμε να βγάζουμε συμπεράσματα και να αρχίσουν να παίρνουν εμπειρίες τα νέα κορίτσια. Στόχος μας είναι να συνεχίσουμε πάνω σ’ αυτό το μοτίβο, ώστε σιγά-σιγά να πλαισιώσουν νέα πρόσωπα την Εθνική. Το αποτέλεσμα του αγώνα μπορεί να μην ήταν αυτό που θέλαμε, όμως έγινε μία καλή προσπάθεια σε ένα γεμάτο γήπεδο και απέναντι σε μία δυνατή ομάδα, η οποία ναι μεν έχει αρχίσει να βάζει νέα πρόσωπα, τα οποία όμως έχουν μεγαλύτερη εμπειρία από τις δικές μας αθλήτριες. Θέλω να πιστεύω ότι σιγά-σιγά η εικόνα θα βελτιώνεται και ατομικά για τα κορίτσια αλλά και συνολικά»

Μαρία Χατζηνικολάου: «Κάναμε πολλά λάθη. Είμαστε μία νέα ομάδα με αρκετές αδυναμίες, τις οποίες δεν είχαμε τον χρόνο να διορθώσουμε. Ξέρω ότι και η Σερβία έχει αρκετές νέες παίκτριες, οι οποίες όμως έχουν πολύ ταλέντο, απ’ όσο είδα σήμερα. Αύριο έχουμε άλλο ένα παιχνίδι, στο οποίο θα προσπαθήσουμε να παίξουμε καλύτερα. Και αν τα καταφέρουμε, τότε θα έχουμε ελπίδες για ένα καλύτερο αποτέλεσμα»

BEACHVOLLEY - ΠΡΩΤΕΣ ΟΙ ΒΡΑΖΙΛΙΑΝΕΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΙΑΠΩΝΙΑ (BEACH VOLLEY)

Juliana & Larissa Net Second Keihan/SMFG Japan Open Gold Medal

Osaka, Japan, May 24, 2009 - The only thing keeping Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca from being the top team on the women’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour was a sore back as the Brazilians successfully defended their Keihan/SMFG Japan Open title here Sunday by defeating compatriots Talita Antunes and Maria Antonelli for the international Beach Volleyball gold medal at the US$190,000 event.

With the three-time SWATCH FIVB World Tour champions playing in only their second international event this season after missing the last stop in Shanghai, the top-seeded Juliana and Larissa scored a 26-24, 19-21 and 18-16 win in 65 minutes over the fifth-seeded Talita and Antonelli to win their second gold medal this season along with sharing the $30,000 first-place prize.

“It is better to be playing than watching,” said the 25-year old Juliana, who had to withdraw late from the Shanghai SWATCH stop with a back injury after arriving in the Asian city. “I just did not feel right and did not want to put any stress on my body as I am only nine months removed from major knee surgery. It is better to play on the safe side than try to play at anything less than 100 percent.”

Juliana and Larissa won the season opening event on the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour calendar near the end of April in Brasilia before their withdrawal in Shanghai changed the complexion of the next tournament where Talita and Antonelli topped the podium after placing 13th in the Brazilian capital.

Despite finishing second to share the $21,000 second-place prize, Talita and Antonelli assumed the top spot on the 2009 SWATCH FIVB World Tour rankings list with 1,320 points for three events with Juliana and Larissa now tied for second with Sara Goller and Laura Ludwig of Germany as both teams have 1,200 points. After placing third and fourth in the first two SWATCH events this season, the Germans finished seventh this week.

Sunday’s win was the second in the Keihan/SMFG Japan Open for Juliana and Larissa over their gold medal opponents as Talita and Antonelli dropped a 21-16, 15-21 and 15-10 decision to their rivals Friday afternoon in the winner’s bracket quarter-finals. Early last month in a Brazilian domestic event, Juliana and Larissa also won a meeting with Talita and Maria in three sets.

“Talita and Maria are a very strong team,” said the 27-year old Larissa, who has now won 23 SWATCH FIVB World Tour gold medals with Juliana in 61 international events together since the start of the 2004 season. “We are two young teams that will probably play many more matches against each other on the international and domestic tour. I figure that all our matches will be very competitive with the best of Brazilian Beach Volleyball on display.”

Sunday’s finale marked the 38th-time in the 18-year history of the women’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour that two Brazilian teams have met for a gold medal. Juliana and Larissa now have a 23-14 gold medal match mark, including a 10-4 record in FIVB finales against Brazilian teams. One of their Brazilian setbacks was in the 2005 Osaka stop where Juliana and Larissa were upset in three sets by compatriots Shaylyn Bede and Ana Paula Connelly.

In the first two SWATCH FIVB World Tour events this season, the Brazilian gold medal wins were over teams from the United States and China. Juliana and Larissa defeated Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross in the Brazilia finale while Talita and Antonelli downed Jie Wang and Man Zuo for the Shanghai gold medal.

In the bronze medal match, 13th-seeded Sanne Keizer and Marleen Van Iersel of the Netherlands defeated 26th-seeded Angie Akers and Tyra Turner of the United States 21-19 and 21-18 in 36 minutes. It was the first-ever SWATCH FIVB World Tour medals for the Dutch players, who shared the $15,000 third-place prize. Akers and Turner split $11,200 in their first international event together.

Keizer and Van Iersel’s medal was the second-ever for a Dutch women’s team with the first being a gold medal finish at a 2003 FIVB event in China by Rebekka Kadijk and Marrit Leenstra in Lianyungang. Van Ierset also became the 11th former FIVB under 21 world champion (six men and five women) to net a SWATCH medal. Keizer is also now the third former under 18/19 world champion (one man, two women) to claim a SWATCH podium placement.

With the men’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour idle this past week, both genders will be competing on two different fronts this coming week with the women in Korea (Seoul, May 26-31) and their male counterparts in Poland (Myslowice, May 26-31). After a three-week break the $1-million SWATCH FIVB World Championships will be held June 25-July 5 in Stavanger, Norway.

Κιόσης: “Μεγάλη μου τιμή”

Γέννημα-θρέμμα Θεσσαλονικιός είναι ο νέος παίκτης του ΑΡΗ Μαρμούρη, Χρήστος Κιόσης, ο οποίος την φετινή σεζόν αγωνίστηκε στο πρωτάθλημα της Α1 με την φανέλα της Λαμίας. Μάλιστα, μετά από εφτά χρόνια…περιπλάνησής του μακριά από την συμπρωτεύουσα, επιστρέφει σ΄ αυτήν ως παίκτης των “κιτρινόμαυρων” αυτή τη φορά κι ενώ νωρίτερα είχε αγωνιστεί σε Αίαντα Ευόσμου και ΠΑΟΚ.

Στις πρώτες του δηλώσεις ως μέλος της οικογένειας του ΑΡΗ, ο Χρήστος Κιόσης τόνισε ότι: “Είναι μεγάλη τιμή το γεγονός ότι ο ΑΡΗΣ μου δίνει την ευκαιρία να φορέσω την φανέλα του, καθώς πρόκειται για μία μεγάλη κι ιστορική ομάδα. Είμαι πολύ χαρούμενος από την πρόταση που μου έγινε κι εύχομαι να μπορέσω ν΄ ανταποκριθώ στις απαιτήσεις των ανθρώπων της ομάδας για τη νέα αγωνιστική περίοδο. Ο ΑΡΗΣ φέτος έκανε μία καλή χρονιά και μέχρι τέλους πίστευα ότι θα κατάφερνε να εξασφαλίσει την έξοδό του στην Ευρώπη. Είμαι έτοιμος να δώσω τον καλύτερό μου εαυτό για να φτάσουμε την ομάδα όσο πιο ψηλά γίνεται”.

H. Zlatanov: Best player of Piacenza

Piacenza won the historical title. Hristo Zlatanov was the main star of Piacenza's triumph. He became the top scorer of the playoffs with 215 points!

Zlatanov made these points in 13 play-off games that makes it an overall 1318 points, sending Alessandro Fei in second place. If we take into account the whole league season: Regular season and playoffs, Zlatanov is still top of the chart. Since 1999-2000, he has scored 4.811 points, a hundred more than Wout Wijmans for example. Zlatanov could make much more points in the season, but problems with calf did not allow him to play several weeks. H. Zlatanov scored 99 points in the final series while M. Kazyiski from Trento brought 91 points to his team.

Hristo Zlatanov (Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza): "It's been a thrilling series. It's incredible to win the title after 5 games as tight as this. We have been working hard for 9 months and here is the result. It's an amazing feeling, we have been waiting for a long time for it and now we can enjoy it".

Impressive 3:0 victory for Spain against Bulgaria

2009 European League - Women

Gabrovo, Bulgaria, May 23, 2009. In the first match of Pool A, Spain defeated Bulgaria 3:0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-20) at the Orlovets hall in Gabrovo. The visiting team impressed with a dazzling performance in defense, a show that seemed very frustrating for the the Bulgarians. The hosts could not find a weapon to overcome the Spanish team, despite the enthusiastic support of the local cheering spectators.


The beginning of the match was very encouraging for Bulgaria as they were up to 15:11 in the first set right before 7 points in a row for Spain turned the advantage over to them for the provisional 15:18. Bulgaria came back for 19:18, but Gido Vermeulen’s players were more persistent and managed to close the set in their favor. In the second set, the visiting team was the absolute ruler of the court: 0:5, 1:8, 4:14, 9:16… Bulgaria tried to fight back only to narrow the gap up to 5 points at the end of the set.
The third part was more straight-forward for the Spaniards and they achieved a convincing victory in their first ever match for the European League. Spanish Elena Garcia was the match top scorer of the match with 19 points. Bulgarian opposite Elena koleva scored 14 points.

Serbia delights massive home audience in Subotica

European League - Women

Subotica, Serbia, May 23, 2009. Serbia defeated Greece in the first match the girls of coach Terzic entered for the first edition ever of the Women’s European League. The Serbians sailed to their first victory in three straight sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-15), in 69 minutes in front of 2’450 spectators. The city of Subotica warmly welcomed the chance to organize the first matches of the Women’s European League with a massive audience gathering in the local competition hall.


The match started with the intense support of the local fans for the Serbian team and some points scored with Ognjenovic in the serving area. Fearing that the match could go wrongly, Greek coach Lykoudis asked for a break that immediately secured the next ally for the Greeks, but the Serbian team continued scoring putting up a strong block and a very heavy attack. Chatzinikolaou succeeded in cooking up a point after which Chantava scored an ace. After the technical time-out, Greece resumed back to score 2 points in a row, so Terzic called for another break. In an attempt to improve their performance, the Greeks made several errors but put up a great fight in defending their turf to level at 11. With a block on the net they took the lead and Terzic had to make some substitutions, as Greece continued scoring points through errors of the Serbian team. An ace and a service error of young Petrovic brought the hosts back to 14:16 and to the second technical time-out. Being now much more focused on the match, the Serbian girls equaled the score and took the lead. It was Christou and Kalantzieva that scored to equal again for Greece. It seemed that the Serbian team finally found their block functioning perfectly on the net, aware of witty attacks of the Greek team.
The second set started with a point for the Serbian girls, but Chatzinikolaou immediately replied strongly. Kiosi found a weak spot in the Serbian defense and after a long rally the block of Nikolic and Veljkovic decided for the score to be evened again. The excellent attacks of the Serbian team forced Lykoudis to request a time-out. Some pretty points created standings ovations in the hall and the Serbian girls just went on to 11:7. Krsmanovic was excellent both with her blocks and in spiking. At 13:8, Lykoudis had to take a second time-out. More aces, some errors of the Greeks and a good game of the Serbian and the result moved up to 16:10. Veljkovic scored point nr. 17 and with Nikolic on the service, more points poured. Christou scored and then followed excellent blocks for Krsmanovic and Majstorovic. At 24:14, Majstorovic gave the final touch to score the 25:14 and finish the set in 21 minutes.
The third set started with 4 consecutive points in favor of the Greeks, after that Nikolic showed her strength and the score was quickly leveled. Both teams made several errors in their effort to turn the match to their side. Both teams were striving for their best; with the excellent blocks of Krsmanovic and Bursac Serbia moved the score up to 19:14, Lykoudis called for a second time-out, clearly annoyed by the lack of concentration of his players, but the match was quickly over with the final touch of Majstorovic.
Greece’s captain Maria Chatzinikolaou said after the match: “I will start first of all with expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary hospitality we are experiencing here in Subotica. Everything was organized in a great way, with an excellent hotel, a splendid hall and all the people who have done everything for our comfortable stay here. As for the game, I must say that we made a lot of mistakes. We are building up a new team and we do need a lot to adapt to each other. We know that the Serbian team is also very young but they have excellent new talents that everyone could see. We will try tomorrow to play better and then maybe win”.
Jelena Nikolic, Serbia’s captain, stated: “I will join Maria in her praise for the organization. We never expected that the atmosphere in Subotica could have been so great. I couldn’t stop turning around to see the spectators in the hall. The atmosphere was great. Yes, we are a new team and for many girls that was their first match and I am sure that that was the reason why we played the first set in that way. It was great, but we must improve in order to win tomorrow. The Greek team that didn’t show all they can today and will certainly do their best and try to win the second match tomorrow”.
George Lykoudis, head coach of the Greek team, said: “We definitely knew that Serbia is strong and one of the best teams in the world, having the chance to fill up very quickly also the empty places deriving from injured players. We came from another tournament and did anything as we had planned to do. Our reception was bad, our attack too, we made a lot of errors and there was no way to continue with the game. It is for us very difficult to make up a new team with new players, but we have to go on, continue with all we do and try it out. I congratulate the team of Serbia and thank the local organizers for their hospitality”.
Local coach Zoran Terzic concluded: “If Jelena and Maria were surprised so was I even though we counted on the support of everyone from the city of Subotica, but the people who filled up the stands really filled our hearts too. We are really overjoyed and will remember this match for a long time. If we have the same audience, who knows what we can do in spite of all the injuries and problems we face. We experienced some weaknesses in the first set, mostly due to pressure the girls felt but I am quite happy with the match. We will try to do more and raise the level for tomorrow”.
The best scorer in the Serbian team and the whole match was Jelena Nikolic with 14 points. Majstorovic with 13 and Bursac with 10 also contributed to the final victory with an impressive performance. The best scorers for Greece were Chatzinikolaou with 11 and Kalaintzieva with 7 points.
The second match of the first week-end for Pool A of the 2009 European League will be played tomorrow in the Hall of Sports in Subotica at 6 pm.
Stefana Veljkovic, blocker of the Serbian team, announced for tomorrow: “We were quite confused today and fearful of playing in front of our audience. This was our first match after quite some time and we hope to play much better tomorrow”.
Her teammate Sanja Bursac added: “What can I say but that we are happy that we won, although we started with some confusion as it is our first match all together. We will play at our maximum tomorrow and I expect that we will play better and try to win the match again”.
Greek opposite Kiosi concluded: “I definitely hope that we will play much better. We are quite tired after the matches we played the last week for the World Championships. We have to rest and prepare for the next match and try to show that we can do much more than what we did today”.

European League - Women

Subotica, Serbia, May 23, 2009. Serbia defeated Greece in the first match the girls of coach Terzic entered for the first edition ever of the Women’s European League. The Serbians sailed to their first victory in three straight sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-15), in 69 minutes in front of 2’450 spectators. The city of Subotica warmly welcomed the chance to organize the first matches of the Women’s European League with a massive audience gathering in the local competition hall.
The match started with the intense support of the local fans for the Serbian team and some points scored with Ognjenovic in the serving area. Fearing that the match could go wrongly, Greek coach Lykoudis asked for a break that immediately secured the next ally for the Greeks, but the Serbian team continued scoring putting up a strong block and a very heavy attack. Chatzinikolaou succeeded in cooking up a point after which Chantava scored an ace. After the technical time-out, Greece resumed back to score 2 points in a row, so Terzic called for another break. In an attempt to improve their performance, the Greeks made several errors but put up a great fight in defending their turf to level at 11. With a block on the net they took the lead and Terzic had to make some substitutions, as Greece continued scoring points through errors of the Serbian team. An ace and a service error of young Petrovic brought the hosts back to 14:16 and to the second technical time-out. Being now much more focused on the match, the Serbian girls equaled the score and took the lead. It was Christou and Kalantzieva that scored to equal again for Greece. It seemed that the Serbian team finally found their block functioning perfectly on the net, aware of witty attacks of the Greek team.
The second set started with a point for the Serbian girls, but Chatzinikolaou immediately replied strongly. Kiosi found a weak spot in the Serbian defense and after a long rally the block of Nikolic and Veljkovic decided for the score to be evened again. The excellent attacks of the Serbian team forced Lykoudis to request a time-out. Some pretty points created standings ovations in the hall and the Serbian girls just went on to 11:7. Krsmanovic was excellent both with her blocks and in spiking. At 13:8, Lykoudis had to take a second time-out. More aces, some errors of the Greeks and a good game of the Serbian and the result moved up to 16:10. Veljkovic scored point nr. 17 and with Nikolic on the service, more points poured. Christou scored and then followed excellent blocks for Krsmanovic and Majstorovic. At 24:14, Majstorovic gave the final touch to score the 25:14 and finish the set in 21 minutes.
The third set started with 4 consecutive points in favor of the Greeks, after that Nikolic showed her strength and the score was quickly leveled. Both teams made several errors in their effort to turn the match to their side. Both teams were striving for their best; with the excellent blocks of Krsmanovic and Bursac Serbia moved the score up to 19:14, Lykoudis called for a second time-out, clearly annoyed by the lack of concentration of his players, but the match was quickly over with the final touch of Majstorovic.
Greece’s captain Maria Chatzinikolaou said after the match: “I will start first of all with expressions of gratitude for the extraordinary hospitality we are experiencing here in Subotica. Everything was organized in a great way, with an excellent hotel, a splendid hall and all the people who have done everything for our comfortable stay here. As for the game, I must say that we made a lot of mistakes. We are building up a new team and we do need a lot to adapt to each other. We know that the Serbian team is also very young but they have excellent new talents that everyone could see. We will try tomorrow to play better and then maybe win”.
Jelena Nikolic, Serbia’s captain, stated: “I will join Maria in her praise for the organization. We never expected that the atmosphere in Subotica could have been so great. I couldn’t stop turning around to see the spectators in the hall. The atmosphere was great. Yes, we are a new team and for many girls that was their first match and I am sure that that was the reason why we played the first set in that way. It was great, but we must improve in order to win tomorrow. The Greek team that didn’t show all they can today and will certainly do their best and try to win the second match tomorrow”.
George Lykoudis, head coach of the Greek team, said: “We definitely knew that Serbia is strong and one of the best teams in the world, having the chance to fill up very quickly also the empty places deriving from injured players. We came from another tournament and did anything as we had planned to do. Our reception was bad, our attack too, we made a lot of errors and there was no way to continue with the game. It is for us very difficult to make up a new team with new players, but we have to go on, continue with all we do and try it out. I congratulate the team of Serbia and thank the local organizers for their hospitality”.
Local coach Zoran Terzic concluded: “If Jelena and Maria were surprised so was I even though we counted on the support of everyone from the city of Subotica, but the people who filled up the stands really filled our hearts too. We are really overjoyed and will remember this match for a long time. If we have the same audience, who knows what we can do in spite of all the injuries and problems we face. We experienced some weaknesses in the first set, mostly due to pressure the girls felt but I am quite happy with the match. We will try to do more and raise the level for tomorrow”.
The best scorer in the Serbian team and the whole match was Jelena Nikolic with 14 points. Majstorovic with 13 and Bursac with 10 also contributed to the final victory with an impressive performance. The best scorers for Greece were Chatzinikolaou with 11 and Kalaintzieva with 7 points.
The second match of the first week-end for Pool A of the 2009 European League will be played tomorrow in the Hall of Sports in Subotica at 6 pm.
Stefana Veljkovic, blocker of the Serbian team, announced for tomorrow: “We were quite confused today and fearful of playing in front of our audience. This was our first match after quite some time and we hope to play much better tomorrow”.
Her teammate Sanja Bursac added: “What can I say but that we are happy that we won, although we started with some confusion as it is our first match all together. We will play at our maximum tomorrow and I expect that we will play better and try to win the match again”.
Greek opposite Kiosi concluded: “I definitely hope that we will play much better. We are quite tired after the matches we played the last week for the World Championships. We have to rest and prepare for the next match and try to show that we can do much more than what we did today”.

Αναχωρεί για την Πορτογαλία η Εθνική ανδρών

Με τελικό προορισμό την Πορτογαλία και ενδιάμεσο σταθμό τη Ρώμη, αναχωρεί το πρωί (09.00) της Δευτέρας (25/05) η Εθνική ομάδα ανδρών, προκειμένου να συμμετάσχει στην α΄ προκριματική φάση του Παγκοσμίου Πρωταθλήματος, που διεξάγεται στην πόλη Πόβοα ντε Βαρζίμ.
Οι ομοσπονδιακοί προπονητές, Κώστας Αρσενιάδης και Δημήτρης Καζάζης, επέλεξαν τους παρακάτω 12 παίκτες:
Πασαδόροι: Βασίλης Κουρνέτας, Θανάσης Ψάρρας
Ακραίοι: Κώστας Χριστοφιδέλης, Θεόκλητος Καριπίδης, Θεόδωρος Μπάεφ
Κεντρικοί: Μίταρ Τζούριτς, Σωτήρης Πανταλέων, Ανδρεάς Ανδρεάδης
Λίμπερο: Γιώργος Στεφάνου, Αχιλλέας Παπαδημητρίου
Διαγώνιοι: Νίκος Ρουμελιώτης, Απόστολος Αρμενάκης
Το πρόγραμμα του ομίλου
27/05: 17.30 Ελλάδα – Σλοβενία, 20.00 Πορτογαλία – Δανία,
28/05: 19.30 Σλοβενία – Ρουμανία, 22.00 Πορτογαλία – Ελλάδα
29/05: 19.30 Δανία – Ελλάδα, 22.00 Πορτογαλία – Ρουμανία
30/05: 17.30 Σλοβενία – Δανία, 20.30 Ελλάδα – Ρουμανία
31/05: 15.30 Ρουμανία – Δανία, 18.05 Σλοβενία – Πορτογαλία
* Στην επόμενη φάση (14-16 Αυγούστου) προκρίνονται οι τρεις πρώτες ομάδες.