Rotterdam, Netherlands, September 30, 2015. Italy and Poland clinched the two tickets at stake in the playoff matches of the 2015 EuroVolley celebrated in Rotterdam. The two-times European gold medallists of Italy beat Croatia 3:0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-20) and showed outstanding resilience after the defeat against the Netherlands on Monday, thus keeping their hopes to shine in the tournament. Later in the evening, Poland struggled to beat Belarus 3:2 (25-17, 25-13, 22-25, 20-25, 15-12) in a stunning match that had to be decided in a breathtaking tie-break. The 2015 European Games silver medallists used the support from numerous fans in the stands and earned the hard-fought right to face co-hosts The Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Thursday. 

Italy vs Croatia 3:0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-20) 

Italy will face defending European champions Russia in the quarterfinals of the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women after upsetting Croatia 3:0 in the playoff round in the magnificent Ahoy arena in Rotterdam.

In the first set Croatia was in the lead from the onset, although their lead was only limited to three points. Italy trailed close and on 20:20, the score showed the tie again. However, shortly after that moment, Italy cruised to a 25-22 victory in the period. Valentina Diouf was the decisive factor for the Azzurre, as the 2.02 meters-tall opposite player scored 10 points in the first set alone, with a strong scoring percentage of 56%.

In the second act, it was the Italian ladies who protected a small lead in the early stages. After a powerful block from Martina Guiggi, the squad mentored by Marco Bonitta was leading 20:17. Croatia reduced the gap to one point (21:20), but Angelo Vercesi's ladies were not able to take over the control of the set. With a powerful spike Valentina Diouf ended the period 25-21. Italy scored four aces and signed four blocks in set two as main elements for their success in the period.

Croatia kept on fighting to prolong their participation in the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women. Until 18:18 the team directed by Angelo Vercesi was equal to Italy in the scoreboard, but a few points later Italy broke the tie with an impressive run of effective actions. After some great blocks from Cristina Chirichella and Martina Guiggi, Italy won the third set 25-20, and managed to impose their efficiency to finish the match 3:0.



“The mentality of my players was very strong today”, said Italian coach Marco Bonitta. “It wasn’t our strongest match, but at the end of the sets we could show our best level. There was a lot of pressure on us after the loss on Monday against The Netherlands, so I’m very happy that we reacted this way,” added the Italian coach. 

“I am really happy about this match, it was for certain a victory of the whole team. The video preparation really helped us today, since the Croatian block is very strong. Now we will face Russia, of course this will be a difficult match. But I think they will feel more pressure than us,” declared Italian star Valentina Diouf.

“I have to congratulate Italy, they deserved to win today,” said the coach of Croatia Angelo Vercesi. “We played quite well but at the end of the sets we were not aggressive enough. Still I’m proud of my team, they tried everything today.”

“We played a good match, but it wasn’t good enough to beat Italy”, said the captain of the Croatian team Maja Poljak. “Even if the score was tied, our team didn’t really believe in a victory.”

Belarus vs Poland 2:3 (17-25, 13-25, 25-22, 25-20, 12-15)

Poland advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women after beating Belarus in a thrilling tiebreaker clash. The team mentored by coach Jacek Nawrocki took a quick lead of two sets to none, but the Polish ladies needed three more periods to book a 3-2 victory. 

Belarus confirmed their condition of one of the surprises at the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women, as the squad directed by Petr Khilko clearly enjoyed entering the centre court of Ahoy sports hall in Rotterdam, and had a dream start when they took a 6:4 lead in the first set. Poland managed to fix the balance and took over control. Then, setter Joanna Wolosz started distributing her set-ups perfectly, and Poland cruised to a 22:15 advantage. Anna Werblinska closed the set with a powerful spike (25-17) while middle blocker Sylwia Pycia played very strongly and scored five out of five in the first period.

In set two the tie persisted up to the first technical time-out (8:7 lead for Poland), but during the second mandatory break the gap in favor of the 2003 and 2005 European champions clearly grew (16:9). The squad managed by coach Jacek Nawrocki easily cruised to the final 25-13 after Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza scored the last point of the period.

Belarus refused to give up the match and started on top form in the third set, and at 14:8 Petr Khilko’s ladies defended a comfortable six point lead. Poland fought back to 21:20 but after a kill block from Vera Klimovich on Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata, Belarus earned their first set points (24:21). Poland managed to make one more side-out but following that action, Belarusian Anastasiya Harelik scored to seal the final 25-22.

In act four of the thrilling showdown, Belarus was in full swing. Poland presented troubles scoring against the very strong Belarusian block, and after a spike from Anzhelika Barysevich the scoreboard showed a 25-20 which meant the equality 2-2 in the match. The tie-breaker was taking the scene. 

In the thrilling last period, Belarus played to a 10:7 advantage. At that point, Poland stepped up and took over control of the game. Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata, the eventual top scorer with 31 points, imposed her authority in attack together with middle blocker Kamila Ganszczyk, who scored with two consecutive blocks. It was star player Skowronska-Dolata who pleased the numerous Polish crowd on the stands by scoring the match point (15-12) and securing the ticket to the quarterfinals. 



“This was a strange match”, said the coach of Poland Jacek Nawrocki. “We started very good in the first two sets, but lost control in set three, when we made 11 mistakes. In the end of the tie-break Skowronska and Ganszczyk were very important for us. Tomorrow we play in the quarterfinal against The Netherlands. I think they are favourites, they attack like Russians and defend like Asians,” he added.

“We started this match incredibly strong”, said top scorer Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata from Poland. “But after that, we lost concentration and almost destroyed our chances. I hope that my team learns from this experience. I’m looking forward to the match against The Netherlands tomorrow. We want to enjoy this tournament as much as possible, and besides that I would like to take revenge for the loss we suffered on Sunday,” she commented.