Serbia overcame its first obstacle in the knockout phase of the Women's European Championship. Zoran Terzic's team lost the first set against Croatia, but then asserted their will and won 3:1 (19:25, 25:19, 25:17, 25:12) in Brno.
Thus, the Serbians qualified among the top eight teams in EuroVolley and will face Greece in the quarterfinals. The two teams already played each other in the group stage, when Serbia won 3:0. The winner of the upcoming match will advance to the semifinals in Istanbul.
Croatia showed from the start that they had no intention of giving up without a fight. Serbia experienced serious difficulties in attack, and Maja Ognjenovic struggled to find the best synergy with Aleksandra Uzelac. The Croatians took advantage of the opportunity and won the first set 25:19.
Mika Grbavica started particularly strong for Croatia, creating serious problems for the Serbian block and defense.
From the second set, however, the picture gradually changed. Serbia improved its blocking, and Hena Kurtagic, Mina Popovic, and Uzelac began to exert increasing pressure at the net. Tijana Boskovic also took responsibility in important moments, and the Serbians equalized after 25:19.
In the third set, Serbia already controlled the game significantly better. Uzelac found her rhythm, Vanja Bukilic became more stable, and the Serbians' advantage gradually increased - 25:17.
In the fourth part, Croatia's resistance was finally broken. Serbia dominated and closed the match decisively with 25:12.
The top scorers for the winners were Tijana Boskovic and Aleksandra Uzelac with 18 points each. Hena Kurtagic added 12. For Croatia, Mika Grbavica and Samanta Fabris scored 15 points each. Kurtagic's contribution is also impressive - 12 points, five of which came from Serbia's serve. Croatia relied mainly on Grbavica and Fabris, who finished with 15 points each. Serbia completed its main task and moves on, but the difficult first set showed that Terzic's team has little room for error in the knockouts. Against Greece, the stakes will now be a place in the semifinals.
photo:cev.eu
