Day 2 in Pool B of FIVB Womens WCH gave us a lot of interesting emotions. The most interesting match was the so called Balkan derby between the teams of Serbia and Bulgaria.

But let’s begin with the first one.

Turkey has gained first three points in the tournament after outclassing Canada by 3-0 (25-10,25-12, 25-17). The girls around Massimo Barbolini had the leadership during the whole match and didn’t allow any big surprises. Ozsoy Neriman was called best scorer with 16pts.

Barbolini was pleased with the match and told he wants his squad to continue on this way : “We understood that we are going to have an easy match, but despite this fact my players stayed concentrated and this is why I am pleased. We tested our real strength”.

On the other hand the Canadian head coach Arnd Ludwid seemed to be disappointed by the result : “We couldn’t find the way to use our opportunities in the end of each set. I think the pressure on us was quite a lot. Turkey was excellent on serve and attack, and had caused serious problems to our reception”.

The second match in Pool B was Brazil vs. Cameroon.

The Olympic Queens haven’t had any problems with their opponent  and beat them 3- 0 (25:14; 25:15; 25:18).  During the whole match Brazil had the leadership and kept an aggressive tempo. The most wonderful thing happened not on the court but among Brazil’s and Cameroon’s supporters. Both were cheering up for their teams and smiling. The atmosphere in Pala Trieste was like a real sports holiday and reminded us of the true values of volleyball.

The Brazilian head coach Ze Roberto was very happy after the match not only for the result but for the atmosphere. He thanked all the Cameroons fans, players and coach staff : “I am always happy when I see that someone is putting his soul into a technical effort. I wish only the best to Cameroon, I hope that they’ll qualify for Rio 2016. Their fans are amazing- one cannot see dances, photos and smiles after a loss, but Cameroon’s supporters proved that it is possible”.

Jean-Rene Akono, head coach of Cameroon, was on the same opinion: “ I told my girls to enjoy the game, of course we can improve in the next matches. Thanks to the Brazil team for the photos after the match- it is like a gift for us”.

The real volleyball battle in Pool B was in the match Serbia vs. Bulgaria, which was named the Balkan derby. Both teams showed quality play and made the spectators in Pala Trieste feel happy for having seen such a great volleyball. The intrigue in the match was kept during the whole time as Serbia took the leadership with 1- 0 (25:19), but Bulgaria answered with 1-1 (23:25). The players of Zoran Terzic won the third set (25:19) and were only set way from the final win. Elena Koleva and Strashimira Filipova from Bulgaria led their team to the win in the fourth set (25:18) and so all the volleyball lovers expected the tie break. In this tense moments both teams played very well, but in the end Serbia closed 15-12 in their favor.

The head coach of Bulgaria Vladimir Kuziytkin was pleased with the team spirit his girls showed : “ I want to congratulate Serbia for the win. I think that both teams showed good play. My players showed a fighting spirit and this matters most to me. I think that we could have won but sometimes what we wish for is not turning in reality.”

Zoran Terzic surprised the journalists in the press conference hall after telling that he is happier that his squad won 3-2 and not 3-0 : “I know that it might sound strange but I prefer this result because it shows a good team spirit and the availability of my players to manage with difficult situations. We know that our group is a very tough one, this is why I didn’t expect to have5 pts.on the second day.”