SPORTS
Turkey cruise past Romania into Volleyball quarters
Baku, June 19, AZERTAC
Turkey earned a place in the quarter-finals of the first European Games women's Volleyball tournament as they swept aside Romania 3-0.
It was a routine victory (25-16, 25-22, 25-19) for the world no.8 team, who were again loudly cheered on in Crystal Hall 1.
The win was Turkey’s third in a row, and Polen Uslupehlivan was in confident mood after the Pool A game.
"I think we are stronger than the other teams,” she said after scoring 25 points. “Azerbaijan is our strongest rival. We are level with them."
Romania have now lost four consecutive games, and will be eliminated if Italy win one set in their Thursday afternoon game against Poland.
In the morning’s Pool B game, Croatia registered their first win to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
They took the first two sets 25-23, before Bulgaria recovered to take the third set 25-15. Croatia held their nerve and won the last set 25-23 in a dramatic finale.
Croatia's head coach, Brazilian Angelo Vercesi, said: "We played like a team. We followed our tactics and played a good game."
Turkey will play Azerbaijan in their final Pool A game on Sunday 21 June, while Romania will face Italy.
In Pool B on the same day, Croatia will play Germany, while Bulgaria will face the Netherlands.