Progress with each match, Fetisova’s loss and complex playoff grid: how Russian volleyball players play at the European Championship

The season of volleyball tournaments for the national teams continues, and after the League of Nations with the qualifying competitions for the Olympics, the teams left to determine the best in their parts of the world. The Russian team went to the European Championship, which this year has undergone major changes. For the first time, the composition of the participants increased to 24 teams, and four countries volunteered to host the tournament at once.

The Russians came to the continental championship in a good mood. After the failure in the League of Nations, the team showed its real strength when its leaders joined it - Natalia Goncharova, Irina Fetisova, Evgenia Startseva, Irina Voronkova. In the match against South Korea, in which the fate of the Olympic trip was decided, the Russians returned hope to the fans. At the European Championships, at least they should not be discounted.

This year the tournament is markedly different from its predecessors. The number of participants increased one and a half times, and all of them were dispersed in four countries - Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey. The tournament included many teams that had never dreamed about such an opportunity. However, for the national team, the expansion of geography was a plus. Olympic selection showed that wards Vadim Pankov is better to start with opponents easier.

The first match, with the Belarusians, instantly revealed the main weakness - the reception. Although Voronkova and Ksenia Parubets scored a lot of points, they did not always cope with their main duty, and there was no one to secure and replace them. This situation, multiplied by pre-launch excitement and mistakes in key rallies, led to a very difficult fight for the victory. The first set was won with a score of 26:24, in the second Belarusians scared with a desperate jerk, in the third they had to recoup from 15:19. Fortunately, all three parties ultimately remained with the Russian volleyball players.

The game with Switzerland was supposed to inspire confidence in the girls, but before it there were two episodes at once that could unsettle anyone. The main blocker, Irina Fetisova, who showed all her strength in the first game, suddenly fell down with appendicitis and left the tournament ahead of schedule. In addition, the three-match suspension was received by coach Sergio Buzato.

We wish a speedy recovery to Irina Fetisova - # 14 of Team Russia - who last night underwent surgery to treat appendicitis in Bratislava! Get well soon! #EuroVolleyW@volleyrupic.twitter.com/qXzxdpMZ1T

All these problems led to the fact that the Russians hardly beat the team, which on their own did not qualify for the European Championship for almost half a century. The Swiss were able to six glad to apply for departure, kept the reception of Russians below 50% and with each set they made mistakes less and less. Fortunately, the victory was again wrested in the classroom. Goncharova earned her 17 points, Angelina Lazarenko perfectly served, and Ekaterina Efimova, called to replace Fetisova, put five successful blocks in one third set.

In the match with the Germans, the main rivals in the Slovak group, there was no question of any victory in the class. Success in the first installment did not mean anything. In the second and third Parubets did not cope with the reception at all, and Goncharova did not have mutual understanding with the binder Tatyana Romanova. At the same time, the German team flew the ball where it should. The team even decided on a desperate step - gave up the fourth set after the first two won, to give the leaders a break. At the tie-break, the Germans regained victory with renewed vigor, although they scored fewer points for this two-hour marathon.

Hey, @TeamGER_Volley 🇩🇪, nice blocks you've got there 💪💪

This pool D match is getting intense - Germany 🇩🇪 leading Russia 🇷🇺https: //t.co/xtqm3gYWQE#EuroVolleyW#Volleyball@volleyrupic.twitter.com/qWi6Ts2vck

A cold shower energized the Russian girls. After the weekend, in which Pankov canceled all training, his wards finally transformed. In the next game with Spain, all the cons were eliminated. The pair of saves kept the balls more often, Margarita Kurilo successfully replaced Voronkova, but Irina Koroleva was the brightest to open. Even in the match with Germany, she became the third highest in the team, and against the Spaniards made nine blocks and scored six more points in the attack. The Russian team won in three sets without unnecessary hassle.

On the last day of the group stage, it immediately became known that the Russians would not take first place in the group. Germany won five out of five victories and got comfortable Slovenia in the 1/8 finals. Pankov’s wards faced the prospect of starting the playoffs with strong Poland, Italy or Belgium, each of which was in the first seven following the results of the League of Nations. It was not possible to choose rivals, so the Russians just had to finish the group stage with the match with Slovakia.

This game fell on the day of the Slovak National Uprising, and the stands of the Slovnaft Arena werena were filled to capacity. But the fans did not embarrass the Russian team. She held an exemplary match, not for a second giving reason to doubt herself. In each set, the Russians immediately took the lead and eventually won all the games with a two-digit difference - 25:14, 25: 9, 25:12. The personal statistics of many Russians was impeccable - 56% of the attacks carried out by Goncharova, Voronkova’s reception at 64%, plus six blocks from Koroleva. The group stage completed its task of training the team for the playoffs.

When the last matches in group B ended, the Russian team decided on an opponent in the knockout tournament. Pankov's wards avoided meeting with Poland and moving to Lodz, and instead will play with Belgium, which still looks preferable to Poles or Italians. With the latter there will still be an opportunity to face in the quarterfinals if they beat Slovakia. But in any case, the Russians will no longer have simple opponents from September 1, and the same whole game as in the last two matches will need to be shown throughout the knockout round.