After a shaky start France bounced back to defeat Slovenia 3-1
Marseille, France, 2009 — Having suffered a 3-1 defeat against Spain on Opening Day, Greece bounced back strongly Thursday afternoon with a convincing straight-sets victory over Finland (25-19, 25-17, 25-14) in the second round of the 2010 FIVB Women’s World Championship.
The Finns are not yet out of contention for a spot in the third round, but with two defeats in straight sets, their record so far is disappointing.
In spite of a shaky start, hosts France secured their first win, 3-1 over Slovenia. French head coach Fabrice Vial said he was impressed by the way his team handled the pressure against a tough Slovenian side.
"Slovenia demonstrated some real quality this evening in the first set and at times managed to give us trouble later on in the game," Vial said. "Having said that, I want to congratulate my players for their reaction as they really mastered the rest of the match."
Up next for France is winless Finland, who Vial said cannot be taken lightly. "What about Finland? This is again an opponent that we shall take very seriously," Vial said. "This is for sure not going to be an easy task."
Slovenian coach Tilen Kozamernik expressed disappointment at Thursday's loss: "After my players had seized the first set, I said to myself that maybe we were going to work out an unexpected result. Unfortunately, we didn't succeed in maintaining that level for the rest of the game. I am quite disappointed as we did not get the happy ending I was counting on."
Team Slovenia also lost the services of 21-year-old Anja Zdovc, who was unable to finish the match after injuring her right ankle.
Results Greece vs. Finland 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-14) France vs. Slovenia 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-11, 25-20) Download highresolution
