EuroVolleyW: Bulgaria and Sweden open Eight Finals in Plovdiv
Preview
After a one-day break for rest and traveling, the CEV EuroVolley 2021 Women resumes on Saturday with arguably the most exciting part of the tournament – the elimination round. The Bulgarian city of Plovdiv will be the host of the first two Eight Finals matches, with the hosts facing Sweden and the Netherlands and Germany playing each other.
Bulgaria enters the elimination round on a high after finishing at the top of Pool A with four wins in five matches. The Lionesses will once again have the home crowd behind them in the match against the Swedish, which can guarantee the hosts in the quarterfinals for a second-straight edition of the EuroVolley.
The Bulgarians have benefited from the great form of a handful of their key players, most notably opposite Emiliya Dimitrova, the team’s top scorer with 77 points, middle blocker Hristina Vuchkova, EuroVolley’s leading blocker with 17 stops at the n
Emiliya Dimitrova“From now on, there are no easy matches. Either you win and move or lose and go home. Every team will be playing at their best and we’ll need to show an even stronger game to continue in the tournament.”
Bulgaria's Opposite
Sweden’s success, on the other hand, is directly linked to the phenomenal performances of star opposite Isabelle Haak. The 22-year-old player, who’s the Swedish captain in the tournament, comfortably leads the scorers ranking with 131 points – she also ranks first in kills (111) and seventh in aces (nine). Setter Sofia Andersson is also having a solid campaign, ranking third in her position with a 61.54% efficiency rate.
Back in the EuroVolley after 38 years, the Swedish have survived a tough Pool D with two wins in five matches and are now determined to keep moving forward.
Ettore Guidetti“We’re on the right track, the girls are playing better in every match. But we need to accept that despite that, we can’t control how our opponents play. It’s been a long and tough journey, but it’s also been a lot of fun and we’re ready to fight in the playoffs.”
Sweden’s Head Coach