Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, January 8, 2020.  The Netherlands claimed the first of four spots in the semifinals of Europe’s women’s Olympic qualification tournament by taking their second straight-set victory, shutting out Bulgaria, in the race for the single available Tokyo 2020 ticket. The home side can no longer be pushed below the top two positions in the Pool A standings. Also on the second competition day, Germany snatched their second win in Apeldoorn – 3-1 over Belgium – and got well within reach of the semis, while Turkey recorded their first victory to stay in contention in Pool B.



Pool B: Croatia vs. Turkey 1-3 (28-26, 12-25, 20-25, 21-25)

Turkey claimed their first win in Apeldoorn, after losing to Germany on Tuesday. In their second match in Pool B, they came back from a set down to claim a 3-1 (26-28, 25-12, 25-20, 25-21) victory over Croatia. Towards the end of a dramatically unfolding first set, Turkey scored five consecutive points on Cansu Ozbay’s serving, to reach set point at 24-21. Croatia, however, reacted with a series of three points to push the set into overtime. They denied two more Turkish set points before Matea Ikic crowned her great performance in the set (10 points) with two successful spikes in a row for the last two putaways – 28-26. With their backs against the wall, coach Giovanni Guidetti’s players reacted swiftly and crushed the opponents by 25-12 in the second set. Setter Ozbay continued to distribute the Turkish attacks nicely towards all spikers in the third set. After four consecutive points, Turkey broke away with a 19-14 lead and never looked back – 25-20. Capitalising on the many unforced errors by the Croatians, the EuroVolley silver medallists stayed well in control throughout the second half of the fourth set, building up to a 25-21 close, with captain Eda Erdem hitting the winner. Middle blocker Zehra Günes delivered six stuffs towards a match high total of 16 points. Her teammate Hande Baladin and Croatia’s Matea Ikic scored 15 each.



Pool B: Belgium vs. Germany 1-3 (31-33, 24-26, 26-24, 22-25)

Germany managed their second four-set win in Pool B. In a hard-fought match, they emerged with a 3-1 (33-31, 26-24, 24-26, 25-22) victory over Belgium to top the current standings. With Louisa Lippmann on fire at the net, Germany recovered from a six-point deficit to catch up at 20-20 and take the lead for the first set point at 24-23. Later on, in the overtime, the Germans denied as many as six Belgian set points before regaining the lead. Lippmann hammered an amazing 14 points in the first set, but it was a kill block by Camilla Weitzel that nailed the winner at 33-31. In the second set, the battle was so fierce that the lead changed hands several times and the gap never exceeded two points. This time Belgium were the first to reach set point, but Germany denied it with a spike by Lippmann, after which Hanna Orthmann scored two in a row in attack (towards a set total of eight) to shape the 26-24 win. Belgium returned the favour at the conclusion of the third set, which was just as competitive. At a double match point for the opponents, they did not fold, scored four consecutive points, crowning Marlies Janssens’s great serving series with an ace for 26-24. Belgium recovered from an early four-point deficit in the fourth set, but after 13-13 Germany broke away again. The Yellow Tigers denied three consecutive match points, but on the fourth one Lippmann put the ball on the floor for the 25-22 close towards a match high total of 30 points. Belgium’s Britt Herbots finished with 26.



Pool A: Bulgaria vs. The Netherlands 0-3 (19-25, 19-25, 24-26)

The Netherlands became the first team to secure a spot in the semifinals of the continental Olympic qualifier in Apeldoorn after claiming their second straight-set win in Pool A. Inspired by a home crowd of over 3,500, the Dutch managed a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24) victory over Bulgaria. The Netherlands took advantage of the many unforced errors Bulgaria made in the first two sets. In set one, the home team also did great at the block, while Nika Daalderop led the offence on the way to a 25-19 win. In set two, setter Laura Dijkema capitalised on her team’s good reception to create opportunities, which the spikers converted to another 25-19 final score, fixed with a successful hit by Daalderop for the winning point. With 18-year-old Aleksandra Milanova on the court as a substitute opposite, the Bulgarians were a lot more competitive in the third set. They reduced the number of mistakes and even reached set point at 24-23. However, a couple of spikes by Daalderop put the Netherlands in front again and an unforced attacking error by the opponents gave them the win at 26-24. Daalderop on 19 points and Anne Buijs on 18 for the winners were the best scorers of the match.

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