Argentina takes revenge in second game against Serbia – 2011 FIVB World League
The team in sky blue and white shirts was down because of the early defeat from Serbia in the opening match of the 2011 FIVB World League. Last year’s bronze-medalists, Serbia, outclassed Argentina on Saturday, May 28 in their first encounter. They posted
a straight-set win over Coach Javier Weber’s team and earned three points. The match was played at Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario Santa Fe, Argentina and the local fans left with heavy hearts on the first day.
However, the home squad once again clashed with the resilient Serbian team on Sunday. Argentina came up with an appropriate plan to dismantle the power of the pumped-up Serbs. A crowd of 5,000 was up for the support and backing of the Argentinean team. The
team performed better and didn’t repeat any silly mistakes. Eventually, Argentina hit the mark and held off Serbia for 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, and 25-20) victory. The home team was in for some great celebration for fans at the weekend.
Match Summary
Argentina started out with nice, easy and relaxed game play. They served with precision and hit the shots with accuracy. They paid attention to both ends and didn’t create any errors in attack and blocking. Facundo Conte of Argentina came strong on opponents
with his powerful spikes at various lengths. Meanwhile, Starovic of Serbia stood against the Argentinean team and killed many of their attack attempts. However, Argentina led the game with a better score and kept on putting more and more effort into their
attack. As a result, Serbia trailed behind with a margin of four points at the first technical timeout (FTT).
Players from both sides discussed the prospects of the game during the vital timeout and resumed play. Serbia tried back-row attack and tried to take the lead in the game. On the other side of the net, uniquely positioned Argentinean players defended well
and didn’t allow Serbia to come back. Argentina continued with their rallies and sealed first-set win at 25-21.
Second set of the game was a tense affair as Serbia was not happy after dropping the opening set. The exchange of heavy spikes created a great game for the crowd. The scoreboard showed the first tie at 3-all. The home team produced confident shots but struggled
to put pressure on their rivals. The equally active Serbs also worked out good performances and remained head-to-head with their opponents. The score shifted up with a narrow margin of points and once again was tied at 13-13. The spectators enjoyed every bit
of it. The third tie of the game came at 21-21 but Argentina managed to hit the finish line first. They posted 26-24 on board and extended their lead to 2-0.
Third decisive set saw an extreme action on centre court. The game of ‘hit and run’ continued for 25 minutes. Finally, victory graced Argentina as they proved to be the better side. Third set ended with the final score of 25-20, this time Serbia walked away
the losers in the match.
Post match
The head coach of Argentinean side, Javier Weber, was excited about his team’s come-back in the game. He disclosed his thoughts after the match and stated, “I am very happy with the victory. The idea was to improve and today we did it. I did not expect
3-0 but 3-2, so it was a great match for our boys. Our serving was the key to targeting their reception. Another factor was to obtain points with our first ball spiking. Now I will try to find what great teams do: to maintain a high level of output during
the two hours a match lasts. Crer, Sole and Conte are very young players with great talent. They are the future of our team.”
Likewise, his Serbia counterpart Igor Kolakovic praised the good work of Argentinean team. He acknowledged that boys around Weber made a difference through their superb serving. Moreover, he added that his squad was distracted by their previous victory and
did not pay attention to their rivals in the recent game.
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