Yellow Tigers open EuroVolley with convincing victory over Hungary while Turkey sail past Azerbaijan

The city of Antwerp is living days of pure Volleyball frenzy, as the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women started on Saturday. It was the most anticipated moment for the Belgian fans, as co-hosts Yellow Tigers debuted in the tournament on home ground with a convincing victory over Hungary 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-18). In the match that finished the first day of the 2015 women's EuroVolley, Turkey produced a remarkable debut in the event by beating Azerbaijan 3-0 (25-21, 28-26, 25-13).

The match was determined by the domination of Turkey in the key moments of the clash. While Azerbaijan showed their strength in the first two sets, the Turkish side managed to maintain the efficiency throughout the clash.

A balanced first set with a little gap for both teams got the match started. Azerbaijan with Katerina Zhidkova and Polina Rahimova as leaders, and then Turkey with Gozde Kirdar and Kubra Akman as main arguments exchanged back and forth the control of the period. A strong block by the Azeri team brought the score to 18:18. It became a thriller from that moment on, but two blocks on Rahimova gave Turkey the first set 25-21.

The second period also started balanced (7:7), but the improvement of the Azerbaijani block and the attacks by Rahimova forced the Turkish coach to take a time out at 9:13. At 15:15 the suspense went even further. Kubra Akman and the inevitable Polina Rahimova kept the score tight up to 22:22. The Turkish ladies saved two set balls with 22:24 in the scoreboard, but at the end demonstrated resilience by closing the period 28-26.

In the third set a quick gap from the Turkish ladies turned the tables in favour of Ferhat Akbas’ team. A good blocking system and the increasing individual mistakes by the Azeris made sure Turkey would keep control over the game (13:6 and 16:7) so to put the final and convincing 25-13 in the set to secure a well-deserved 3:0 victory.

/By AzerTac/