Two more quarterfinal spots at stake in Baku

The Playoff stage of the 2017 women’s EuroVolley continues on Wednesday at the iconic National Gymnastics Arena in Baku with another two highly anticipated matches – starting with Turkey playing Poland for a spot in the quarterfinals. The team coached by Giovanni Guidetti struggled in the pool phase whereas Poland recorded two wins out of the three matches they contested in Pool A. Bulgaria will be the pre-favourites in their matchup with Germany – after they almost swept three matches in a row in their pool, only losing in a dramatic tiebreak to reigning European champions Russia. 

Poland vs. Turkey 

Head-to-Head 
•    Poland and Turkey have met once before at the European Championships, in the final of the 2003 championship, when Poland won 3-0 in Ankara.
•    These two teams last met in the final of the European Games in 2015. Turkey won 3-0. They had lost 3-2 to Poland in the preliminary round at those Games.

Poland
•    Poland have won 11 medals at the European Championships: G2-S4-B5.
•    Poland last won a medal in 2009 - bronze. They won the tournament in 2003 and 2005.
•    They were eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2015 after losing 3-1 to the Netherlands.
•    That year they won the playoff match for the quarterfinals 3-2 against Belarus. They lost the other playoff match they played against Italy in 2013.
•    Poland have won 11 matches at major international tournaments in 2017. They won five in 2016. In the last six years, Poland only won more competitive matches in 2015 (12).
•    Malwina Smarzek leads Poland in scoring at the 2017 European Championship on 78 points.
•    Zuzanna Efimienko and Agnieszka Kakolewska each have scored 10 points with kill blocks.

Turkey
•    After the lost final in 2003, Turkey won one more medal at the European Championships, a bronze in 2011. They finished fourth in 2015.
•    Turkey played the playoff round for the quarterfinals twice before and won both, 3-0 against Spain in 2011 and 3-0 versus Belarus in 2013.
•    Turkey and Italy are the only two teams to have played two playoff matches for the quarterfinals, and won both.
•    Turkey's 3-1 win against Ukraine on Monday ended a four-match losing run at the European Championships. 
•    They have won three matches at major tournaments in 2017 and lost nine.
•    Neriman Özsoy is Turkey's leading scorer at this European Championship on 61 points.
•    Kübra Akman Caliskan and Eda Erdem Dündar each have scored 15 points with kill blocks.
  
Bulgaria vs. Germany 

Head-to-Head 
•    Bulgaria and Germany will meet for the second time at the European Championships since the German re-unification (1990). In 1999, Bulgaria beat Germany 3-1 in the group stage.
•    This will be the 19th time for Bulgaria to play against a German team (GER, FRG, and GDR) at the European Championships. They have won 10 and lost eight encounters, including a 3-0 against GDR and a 3-1 versus West Germany at the 1989 European Championship. This was the last time they met a German team until the match in 1999.
•    Germany have won the three most recent encounters with Bulgaria at any tournament, including a 3-2 win at the 2017 World Grand Prix.
•    Nasya Dimitrova (16, BUL) and Jennifer Geerties (19, GER) led their teams in scoring in this match on 9 July 2017.

Bulgaria
•    Bulgaria hope to claim their first silverware at the European Championships since a bronze medal in 2001. They won the trophy in 1981 and finished third in 1979.
•    Bulgaria's 3-2 defeat against Russia on Monday ended a winning run of four matches at international tournaments, their longest winning streak since a run of eight victories at the 2014 World Grand Prix.
•    Bulgaria's last four matches at major competitions have all been five-set matches. They have never had to play five matches in a row that ended in the deciding fifth set.
•    They lost a five-set match versus Germany at this year's World Grand Prix.
•    Elitsa Vasileva has scored a team-high 63 points for Bulgaria at this year's European Championship.
•    Hristina Ruseva has scored 20 kill blocks.

Germany
•    Germany finished runners-up in 2011 and 2013 and fifth in 2015.
•    The Germans have not won the trophy since their re-unification. The former German Democratic Republic won the trophy in 1983 and in 1987. 
•    Germany have played one playoff match for the quarterfinals, a 3-0 win against Hungary in 2015.
•    Germany could lose consecutive matches at major competitions for the first time in 2017. 
•    So far, they have won 10 and lost four matches at major tournaments in 2017.
•    Louisa Lippmann is Germany's top scorer at this European Championship on 66 points.
•    Jennifer Geerties has a 69% success rate as receiver.

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