The drawing of lots for the 2017 CEV European Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament has been completed. Held at the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, teams were drawn into 4 pools that will play for the continental title from September 22nd-October 1st.
The tournament’s co-hosts, Azerbaijan and Georgia, were automatically given spots at the top of Pool A (played in Baku) and Pool B (played in the Georgian capital Tbilsi). Additionally, as host nations, they were given the privilege of selecting the other two group leaders.
The hosts made the respectful decisions – the defending European Champions Russia were named the Pool C leaders, while the Olympic silver medalists from Serbia were selected as the Pool D lead team.
The 12 remaining teams were grouped into three tiers of four teams each, based on their ranking in Europe, and randomly assigned to each of the four groups. While Groups A and B are slightly weaker, on averages, because of Azerbaijan and Georgia as the lead teams, because of the depth in European women’s volleyball, all four groups are still deep.
The draws:
- Pool A in Baku: Azerbaijan, Germany, Poland, Hungary
- Pool B in Tbilisi: Georgia, Italy, Croatia, Belarus
- Pool C in Baku: Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine
- Pool D in Ganja – Göygöl: Serbia, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic
The winners of each of the four pools advance straight to the quarterfinals, whereas the 2nd and 3rd-placed teams in each group will advance to a play-in round of 16 game. Round of 16 games:
- 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool C
- 2nd Pool C vs. 3rd Pool A
- 2nd Pool B vs. 3rd Pool D
- 2nd Pool D vs. 3rd Pool B
Leyla Aliyeva, a television presenter that hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, hosted the event.
Editor’s Note: Leyla Aliyeva not to be confused with the same-named daughter of Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev.
Leave a Reply