Hamamatsu, Japan, September 16, 2019 – Serbia beat Kenya 3-0 (25-13, 25-11, 25-17) in the first match on the third day of the FIVB Women’s World Cup at Hamamatsu Arena on Monday.
Serbia coach Aleksandar Vladisavljev: "I can be satisfied with today’s match and with all the players. I tried to give a chance for all of them to play. Also, two or three players who were very tired from the European Championship and had injuries all played which is good for us because we are able to count in our next games in the World Cup."
Serbia captain Ana Bjelica: "I’m really happy with how we played today to get our first win. It was important for us after two difficult matches against Brazil and America. But we came with the same attitude and showed how we can play at this high level three days in a row. I’m also happy that some of our young players could feel this atmosphere at this level.
"Congratulations to Kenya who really fought. They are strong and good jumpers, but we prepared well and our block and defence worked really well."
Kenya coach Paul Bitok: "Today’s match was not good, especially the first two sets. We were worried about the scores because we didn’t want to come to the World Cup and have low scores, but we managed to get a good score in the third set. We came in knowing we would be playing the world champions and the European champions and this scared some of us and it was not easy for us to contain them. They came in with a specific target to serve against our two left-sided players and really pressured them. When we weren’t playing well, I told myself to use other players so they can get some experience."
Kenya captain Mercy Moim: "We tried to play our game but we lost concentration from the start to the beginning. We fought but the main problem was our attack was too weak. We played better in the first two days and I don’t know what the problem was."