23/09/2011 20:11
Turkey overpower Azerbaijan in opening match of Pool B
2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women
Monza, Italy, September 23, 2011 - Turkey beat Azerbaijan 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-21) in today's first Pool B match in Monza PalaIper at the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women.
The Azeri put some pressure on Motta's team only in the first set. Then the difference between the two teams started to show up with a quite easy Turkish win. Best player of the match was Azeri wing-spiker Natalya Mammadova, even if 24 points were not enough.
The first set began well for Azerbaijan's team. The power of Mammadova helped them leading 8-5 at the first technical timeout. Motta's team couldn't react. At the second break, the Azeri kept a three-point lead. The set became very balanced until the last points (23-23). But two blocks of Kovalenko ended the set in Azerbaijan's favor.
In the second set Turkey improved their reception thanks to Sonsirma and libero Kuzubasioglu. Turkey concluded 25-17.
The Turks kept the momentum in the third set showing their good way of playing. Sonsirma scored seven points and Ozsoy booked another five points. At the second break, Motta's players were already 16-8 in front, and there was nothing to do for Azerbaijan to come back.
Turkey leveled the game at 16-16 in the fourth set, stopping the run of their opponents. The set ended 25-21 in Turkey's favor with a spectacular block kill from Ozsoy.
Turkey coach Marco Motta: "The first match is always challenging since you still need to get into the match's stride. Azerbaijan's service was consistently well; while we experienced some troubles in defense in the first set. The strength of our team was to stay focused the whole match."
Turkey captain Gözde Kirdar: "We didn't play very well in the first set; Azerbaijan attacked strongly and our defense was not always brilliant. We improved our game in the second set, when the team energy increased. We are looking forward to the next challenge."
Azerbaijan coach Faig Garayev: "It was a good match versus Turkey. We committed too many mistakes after the win of the first set. That was the reason why we finally lost the match."
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