28/09/2015 22:50
Dutch fairy tale continues, Polish ladies defeat newcomers in straight sets
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women
Apeldoorn, Netherlands, September 28, 2015. Poland clinched the ticket to the playoff matches of the 2015 EuroVolley after defeating Slovenia in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-21) in the opening match of the third day of competition in Apeldoorn. Before the clash of titans between The Netherlands and Italy for the leadership of Pool A, the Polish and Slovenian ladies met to achieve their first victory in the tournament, a honour that finally ended in the hands of the Baku 2015 European Games silver medallists. Later in the evening, the local heroines of the Dutch team continued their fairy tale in Apeldoorn with another three-setter victory over Italy 3:0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-22) in front of 5,600 spectators.
Poland vs Slovenia 3:0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21)
The match set to open the third day in Pool A at the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Woman presented a duel between Poland and Slovenia for the ticket to stay alive in the competition. Poland defeated Slovenia in three sets and achieved the qualification for the next round.
Slovenia, not planning on giving points away, started off aggressively and were able to advance to 7:6 using strong blocks and powerful serves. With Slovenian outside spiker Ziva Recek and opposite Marina Cvetanovic playing at high level, the Polish team experienced difficulties to shake off their ambitious opponent (15:14). It was only at that moment when Poland were able to breach a gap (17:14), a lead that was maintained until the end of the set (25-18).
The second period started on the same pace. Poland succeeded at keeping a steady level that the Slovenian team could not follow, thus racing behind at 11:7. The four-point gap remained until 18:14, and in the remainder of the set, Poland continued to play with high intensity to keep the distance and finish the second set at 25-19.
In the third set Poland started forcing errors from their rivals, in an improvement of their performance that went hand in hand with Katarzyna Ewa Skowronska-Dolata’s increasing contribution. A strong serve by Polish outside spiker Anna Werblinska resulted in two consecutive aces, putting a comfortable 15:8 on the scoreboard. Eventually the Polish team managed to keep its level until closing the set 25-21, thus winning the match 3:0.
“We’ve had a great experience here, and we will work very hard towards the next championship. Today we’ve played our best match of the tournament and we were close to winning a set,” commented the coach of Slovenia Bruno Najdic, while captain Marina Cvetanovic added: “The Polish team is more our style of Volleyball, so we were able to get along in the game much longer. We will take all the positive energy from this tournament and learn from it for the next time.”
“I was unable to perform really well today, with only a percentage of 28% in attacks. Also I am a bit angry, because we have much more potential in our team than what we showed today. I am hoping that we can put this behind us for the next match coming up on Wednesday,” stated Polish star Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata.
“We are done with the first phase of the tournament, and no matter our level, we are leaving this behind us now. Today we played the level that was required to win, but after today we will have to start fresh if we want to win against our next rival,” declared the coach of Poland Jacek Nawrocki.
The Netherlands vs Italy 3:0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-22)
The last match in Apeldoorn was a clash between The Netherlands and Italy for the leadership of Pool A. Since both teams convincingly won their first two matches, it was time for a showdown, as the winner of the duel was to ensure the direct qualification for the quarterfinals. The Oranje squad responded to the support from the 5,600 fans that filled up the Omnisport arena and beat the Italian team in three sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-22)
The Italian side struggled to get its reception working in the first set, and faced the strong Dutch block, a situation that gave locals the lead (10:5). The exchanging of side-outs brought the technical time-out at 16:12, still in favour of the home ladies who were able to serve their way to a convincing 22:14. Ultimately, the Italian players could not avoid the landslide 25-15 in the period.
The visiting squad started the second set improving its serve and putting the Dutch reception under pressure. Both teams consistently signed successful side-outs and put the score at 9:9. While the Dutch ladies kept their strain on the match, the Italian team fell back, forcing coach Marco Bonitta to request a time-out at 17:12. However, outside spiker Maret Balkestein-Grothues was able to serve to the 20:12. Italy did not recover and the local heroines finished the second set 25-18.
The beginning of the third act presented two equally matched teams challenging each other up to 9:9, and later 12:12. Italy were able to create the first breach at 15:12, but the Dutch ladies responded eagerly thus putting the score back at 17:17. The Italians made it all the way back to an equal 22:22, but the local heroines maintained the consistency through to a 25-22 win in the set, which finalised the clash with the conclusive 3-0.
“My team impresses me more and more with each day. I am extremely happy to see that they play more aggressive and concentrated in each match. At the same time I am sad to leave Apeldoorn, this has been great. We won the third set thanks to all the people standing and cheering,” stated the coach of The Netherlands Giovanni Guidetti, while captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues added: “We knew that we could do this, but when it actually happens it is fantastic. We dominated with our serves, and when the Italians dropped some shots, we knew we could beat them today.”
“The victory today was for the best team. We tried some things in the first and the third sets, but today it was an orange day,” commented Italian coach Marco Bonitta.
For more information on the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Women visit eurovolley2015.eu or click here. In social media, please use the competition’s official hashtag #EuroVolleyW.
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