Russian head coach Alexander Karikov talks to his players during the match against Mexico. The Europeans won 3-0 to achieve their first victory.
Santa Fe, Argentina, August 18, 2017 - Russian wing spiker Polina Shemanova stated that their service and block game were a very important key in their victory over Mexico, that fought hard in the first set. However, the girls of Russia know that success in a tournament is achieved by one match at a time.
Polina Shemanova, player of Russia: “It was a good start. The first match is always hard to play because we had a long trip to Argentina, but we won and that's important. I think today we played well in service and block. We're happy and now we will prepare for the second game.”
Alexander Karikov, Head Coach of Russia: “It's important for us to get the first win, but now we have to prepare for the following games as we did for today's one.”
Karla Mireles Valdez, captain of Mexico: “I think despite the defeat, the union of the team was important today. The best of us was to keep fighting even the scoreboard was adverse. We loss our concentration and communication and I think that's why we lost today.”
Ricardo De Jesus Naranjo, Head Coach of Mexico: “It's difficult to make a balance after the game because on the first set it was an even development, the girls played well but then our reception was really bad, we couldn't attack and we crumbled. I think that starting with such a difficult rival creates insecurity, but I hope we can improve and have confidence in ourselves”.