05/01/2016 18:30
Strong #RoadToRio start for Yellow Tigers in Pool B, Russia claim second win against Italy
2016 European Olympic Qualification - Women
Ankara, Turkey, January 5, 2016. As action resumed in Pool B of the women’s European Olympic Qualifier, powerful spikes, impenetrable blocks and exceptional setting took over Baskent Hall on the second day of competition. Russia opened the schedule of the day with a solid 3-1 victory (25-16, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21) against Italy. In the second match of Pool B the Belgian Yellow Tigers won their first match against Poland 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 27-25, 25-18).
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Belgium vs. Poland 3:1 (25-19, 16-25, 27-25, 25-18)
Belgium were very motivated and took the lead at the first technical time out (8-5). The Yellow Tigers started off particularly strong through the middle and were later on joined by the outside spikers, with some killer attacks and difficult to pass blocking work, forcing the Polish coach to call time out at 12-8. The Polish team kept the gap at three points towards the second technical time-out thanks to powerful spikes and high pressure services of Anna Werblinska and Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata. Ahead 21-18, Belgium coach Gert Vande Broek asked for a time-out to break the Polish machine that was beginning to spin. The success hit immediately as Izabela Belcik served badly and Belgium won the first set 25-19.
The second set started similarly to the first, but at 6-3 the Polish girls found their flow and fought their way back in the game and took the lead. Now Poland could count on their blocking skills and five points behind (14-19), Belgium took a time-out. Poland’s Anna Werblinska made the difference, as she was everywhere on the field, scoring, blocking and even recovering many balls in defence. Poland captain Izabela Belcik served her team to a second set win, 25-16.
With a very strong Berenika Tomsia and Izabela Belcik, Poland took an early lead that they kept for the first half of the third set. Belgium came back to 14-14 due to strong defensive work, but they could not stop the relentless Polish attacks just before the second technical time-out (16-15). Both teams kept on fighting strong for each ball bringing the slot of the set to a very close call. Belgium prevailed due to some fantastic actions at the net and took the third set 27-25.
Captain Charlotte Leys and Frauke Dirickx put higher pressure on service and brought Belgium to an 8-3 advantage in the beginning of the fourth set. The Yellow Tigers could smell the victory as they extended their lead to 16-8 at the second technical time-out. Poland reduced the deficit to trail 18-15, but had to undergo a stronger Belgium team at the end, finishing the match 25-18.
Belgium’s Freya Albrecht: “We are super excited about this win. We did extensive video analysis, knew it was Skowronska-Dolata that we had to stop and that is what we did. I see it as a strong collective victory. We scored much with back passes through the middle and everybody did a great job on their position. Thanks to the hard work of my team-mates we could recover many balls in defence and made the difference in the last two sets.”
Poland’s Katarzyna Skowronska-Dolata: “The key of winning this match, both for us and Belgium, was the third set. It was a pity that we could not win it, and after that everything was harder. Congratulations to Belgium, they played a strong match. Now we have to count on the other teams. Nothing is over yet, and we will do our best to beat Italy in the next match.”
Italy vs Russia 1:3 (16-25, 25-23, 19-25, 21-25)
Italy vs. Russia 1-3 (16-25, 25-23, 19-25, 21-25)
In the first match of the day Italy made their first appearance at the European Olympic Qualifier. On the opposite side of the net were Russia, who beat Poland in their opener on Monday.
Some of the questions ahead of the match were if Russia were too tired from their tie-breaker on Monday to match a fresh Italian team, playing their first match of the tournament. Furthermore, would it be to the benefit of Russia that they already had shaken off their initial nerves?
The two teams were very even in the first set with Russia just ahead at the beginning. The Russians took a 6-2 lead in a hefty rally with several spectacular digs where the Mikasa changed sides from possible and almost impossible positions. Italy’s Nadia Centoni levelled the score at 12-12 after a hard spike from the centre. The equaliser brought out the very best of the Russians who turned up the pace and with great help from the hands of Tatiana Kosheleva won the set 25-16.
The Azzurre have a great Olympic Games track record having qualified for the last four editions, and coach Marco Bonitta’s selected six were determined to prolong that series in the second set. After being a couple of points behind Russia, Italy turned over the set at 19-17. Martina Guiggi elegantly placed the ball on the back-line for a new Italian lead at 22-21. When Russian setter and captain Ekaterina Kosianenko knuckled the ball in an unfavourable position for her teammates, Italy closed the set 25-23.
All was even when the teams entered the court for the third set. Russia continued to rely on their two scoring machines in the shape of Tatiana Kosheleva (20) and Nataliia Obmochaeva (18) to deliver the points. They did so as Russia had a 16-11 lead at the second technical time-out. No matter how Marco Bonitta tried to adjust the Italian tactical approach, Russia responded with new creative attacks and cruised home 25-19 after being 21-11 up.
Not much separated the two teams in the beginning of the fourth set. Italy tried to build on their good finish of the previous set and kept the only 17-year-olds Paola Egonu and Alessia Orro on the court. As the set evolved, Russia showed that they were too good for Italy and coach Yuriy Marichev’s team wrapped up the set 25-21. Nataliia Obmochaeva was the player to seal the win.
Russia’s Nataliia Obmochaeva: “Our team felt very good before the game, even after yesterday’s long match. We arrived with the right mentality today, but it’s a good thing for the Russian team that we have a free day tomorrow. I felt very good, but I am also happy that we can recover a bit tomorrow before playing against Belgium. Belgium are a very strong team, they have a very good working system and they are strong in defence. I think it will be another hard game, and we'll have to play at our best to beat them.”
Italian debutant Paola Egonu: “It was very exciting. I hope that we can play better than today, because we have a great team. I think we fought well and we will keep fighting because we want to qualify for the Olympics.”
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