The Final Four from the European League for Spain moves away. It was key to win the heleenas to play everything in the game against Slovenia next Sunday at 6:00 p.m., but it was not possible. A match where the most successful was Julia de Paula, with locks in Lola Hernández and with some Ana Escamilla and Lucía Varela who contributed her points. But not even those managed to stop, above all, to a Martha Anthouli who demonstrated his superiority throughout the game.
Martha Anthouli, the punishment of Spain
They were obliged to win to maintain options to qualify for the Final Four of the European League. And also, do it without losing any point along the way. Spain knew what had to be done, but not all scripts are written from the beginning as one wants. Although Ana Escamilla started putting the first of the game, throwing the team behind the beginning, the equality was going to break between Martha Anthouli with a cannon by arm. It was very difficult to stop and that was being seen in the defensive game of Spain. And when it seemed that he tried to wake up with the distribution of the game of Ariadna Pivia, Spain ran out of time and without the first set.
Martha Anthouli before the Spanish block formed by María Schlegel (16) and Lola Hernández (4)
Spain takes the endless set
A set they should learn from not going through the same problems. And they took it seriously. Especially from the serve of Patricia Aranda that put the first three -point distance for Spain, with a direct serve included, and getting the Greek coach to stop the game. A break that was going well to match the score in 11-11 and that only Julia de Paula's points were able to rectify. But Greece was still a siege until two consecutive blockages, first of Lola Hernández and after María Schlegel He put them back on the scoreboard.
The weakness of the party against Sweden last week, where there was no blockade, was becoming its strength. Now it was again the blockade of Lola Hernández What kept them ahead. The central was finding the point to stop Thirdoglou And I was doing it. A game that was joined Julia de Paula With a defense with a point at the end of Ana Escamilla. And although he was going to suffer until the end despite being with 24-21 in his favor on the scoreboard. It seemed that not a genius of Patricia Aranda With a feint from the ground I was going to close the set, but the fortune with the serve of the opposite From Paula that plays in the band, ends the set on 30-28.
Julia de Paula (11) and Lola Hernández (4) celebrating one of the points of Spain
The beginning of the end
Again tables on the scoreboard and again it seemed that luck was on the side of Greece. First with a ball that seemed to have a complex defense, which after passing through a thousand obstacles in the pavilion ceiling, ended up in Greek point. And then with an attack of Julia de Paula by zone '2' that would still be able to lift the race and close it with a buien point of Greece. Only the invasion of Papageorgiou that got into the placement of Patricia Aranda. The rest did not come out. Entry again of Zoi mavrommatis y Ariadna prior Things changed a little, but the third was sentenced.
With the classification to the complicated Four, Spain had to cling to a complicated comeback and not for that reason impossible. But it was a party where y Stranzali They put the points for the Greeks, a result that despite going in favor of Spain with a Zoi mavrommatis That he was contributing in attack, the Greeks were going to put another march to take the score at 21-24. A point was what remained to close the set and despite Ana Escamilla's attempt, which delayed the end until once, was going to end in this fourth game with an attack of Martha Anthouli.
Ana Escamilla and Lucía Varela trying to block Martha Anthouli
Data Sheet:
1 – España: Segura (2), Escamilla (11), Hernández (9), from Paula (15), Aranda (2), Varela (11) and Llabrés (L). They also played: Pivia (0), Fernández (1), Mavrommatis (6) and Schlegel (8).
Coach: Pascual Saurín.
3 – Greece: Konstantinidou (4), Bakodimou (17), Terzoglou (3), Anthouli (24), Stantzali (12), Tontai (9) Y Artakianou (L). También Jugaron: Xanthopoulou (L), Lamprousi (0) Y Papageorgiou (6).
Coach: Apostolos Oikonomou.
PARTIAL: 16-25 (21 min.), 30-28 (37 min.), 19-25 (25 min.), 22-25 (26 min.).
Referees: Sanja Miklosic (1st Collegiate, Slovenia) and Michele Bruneli (2nd Collegiate, Italy).
Incidents: Party corresponding to the fifth day of the CEV European Golden League 2025 played at the šaleška of Velenje (Slovenia) with capacity for 2,000 spectators. Oikonomou Apostols (Greece) saw a yellow card for delay, when making a change that should not have been made.
