03/10/2015 17:15
Co-hosts make 7,000 spectators’ dreams come true: The Netherlands on to EuroVolley final
2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women
Rotterdam, Netherlands, October 3, 2015. The Netherlands will play for the gold medal of the 2015 CEV DELA Volleyball European Championship – Women. The Dutch ladies extended by one more day their dream journey in the tournament being contested on home soil and advanced to the ‘grand finale’ of the competition after beating Turkey in three sets (25-22, 25-18, 28-26) in the first semi-final in Rotterdam. The support of 6,945 enthusiastic and unconditional fans was instrumental in the historic quest for glory of the Oranjes who are now hoping to repeat the feat achieved by their illustrious countrywomen who twenty years ago won the only European gold medal to date for the Netherlands, doing so also while performing on home soil in Arnhem.
Click here for a live gallery of the 2015 Women’s EuroVolley final four weekend
The Netherlands vs Turkey 3:0 (25-22, 25-18, 28-26)
The Netherlands lived a memorable day in Rotterdam on Saturday, as the Oranjes achieved a historic qualification to the final match of the 2015 EuroVolley. The Dutch side beat Turkey 3:0 (25-22, 25-18, 28-26) in the first semi-final of the thrilling competition, in a demonstration of efficiency and team work. This is the fourth time in history the Netherlands make the final act of the EuroVolley after their home success over Croatia in 1995 whilst in 1991 and in 2009 they lost the gold medal match to the Soviet Union and Italy, respectively. Turkey are still in contention for their third European medal in history after they won silver in 2003 and bronze in 2011.
Though the first rallies of the opening set were for Turkey (0:2), the Dutch side, lifted by the amazing orange crowd in attendance, soon evened the score. An ace by Anne Buijs brought the score to 7:6, after which the margin grew to three points (9:6). But Turkey kept cool and managed to even the score at 9:9 again. The parity continued but after a Turkish ball finished off the bounds the local side imposed its lead on the game (20:17). Turkey came back to 23:21, but then the women in orange came to set point (24:21), which was promptly cashed by Robin de Kruijf for the final 25-22.
In the onset of the second set the teams were quite equivalent up to 6:6, but then Robin de Kruijf spiked two points in a row, and with Anne Buijs on service position, the home team ran from 7:6 straight to 11:6. The audience in Rotterdam was presented with a true Volleyball show and when an amazing save of libero Debby Stam-Pilon was followed by a sensational spike by Anne Buijs, the crowd at Sportpaleis Ahoy exploded with joy (16:11). However, Turkey kept cool and came back to 16:13, showing they were willing to put on a battle. The Turkish side gave a good fight, but the margin was too big to recover. A failed Turkish set up ended the second set at 25-18 for the ‘flying Dutchwomen’.
The Oranjes created an early margin in the third set (4:1) and reached the first break with a comfortable lead of four points. Again a beautiful Volleyball show, with long rallies and amazing saves and spikes was delivered by both teams, thus making the audience in Ahoy go crazy. Turkey showed its muscles and came back to 16:13, and tried to shake off the pressure from the stands by forcing errors from the local side. The Turkish ladies took over the lead at 21:20 and an incredibly exciting phase followed, with the teams exchanging the lead back and forth (21:22, 22:23). Turkey came to set point (23:24), but Anne Buijs smashed away the first opportunity for the visitors to call for a fourth set (24:24). The second Turkish set point was defused by Lonneke Slöetjes, and shortly afterwards the first match point for the home team followed (26:25). Turkey levelled again but Slöetjes contributed another match point for the Netherlands. Finally a Dutch kill block secured the final for the team mentored by Giovanni Guidetti (28-26). The 3:0 places The Netherlands in the final and fulfils the hopes and dreams of the co-hosts of the 2015 women’s EuroVolley.
“What a crowd, it gives us so much energy,” an elated coach of The Netherlands Giovanni Guidetti declared after the match. “This team can beat anyone, I just have to let them play. They performed with so much heart. I also want to compliment my whole staff, technical, medical, as they all contribute to this incredible success,” he added.
“It was an incredible fight, this match had everything. We even saved the impossible balls, it feels so good. The Turkish team have won so much already and today we beat them 3:0. It is an incredible and true achievement of our group,” stated the Dutch captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues.
“The Netherlands dominated the game today and the great atmosphere pushed them to a higher level. The substitutions in the third set worked, I really thought that we were heading for a tie break. But, perhaps by the pressure of the home crowd, we could not cash our set points,” commented the coach of Turkey Ferhat Akbas.
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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