Brazil beats Russia in the semi-final of 2011 FIVB Women’s Grand Prix
World Champion's Brazil worked out a great win against Russia in the semi-final of the 2011 FIVB Grand Prix on Saturday, August 27. The South American team claimed victory over their opponents by sending 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, and 25-23) on to the board.
The Macau East Asian Games Dome hosted the match in the evening as Menezes Thaisa played an instrumental role in Brazil’s win. She added a valuable 15 points through her sharp attacks. Russia’s Gamova Ekaterina put up a valiant effort for Russia and contributed
a match-high 17 points.
The opening set of the match was even play as both sides showed great fighting spirit. Brazil attacked through Sheilla Castro and scored early points. In response, Russian Ulyakina Vera, retaliated and delivered commanding serves. The game saw the first
tie of score at 8-8. The tussle continued and long rallies were exchanged. Brazil retook the lead but Russia came back quick to hit the equaliser at 20-all. The mood of the game remained the same until the end. Brazil’s solid defence and skilful attack tactics
led it to a first set win 26-24.
Using the advantage of the first set, Brazil put more pressure on the rival side in the next set. Carvalho Jacqueline of Brazil put her team in lead at 8-2. Russia struggled but their efforts were futile. The combination of Pereira Natalia and Captain Claudino
Fabiana worked for Brazil in the second set, which ended with the final score of 25-17.
Russia was clearly under the clouds of uncertainty after losing two sets in a row. Russia’s captain, Ekaterina Gamova, spiked hard in the third set and hit the ball from different angles. Nonetheless, the charged-up Brazilians didn’t allow Russia to come
up. They closed off third set with slight margin of 2 points at 25-23 and announced semi-final victory.
The Russian head coach, Vladimir Kuzyutkin, commented, “Despite losing today’s match, I am still happy with the outcome. We played some new players in today’s game, so it is an inexperienced team. I am happy with what we learnt from today’s game, and there
is no regret losing to such a strong team like Brazil.”
On the other hand, the mentor of Brazil, José Roberto Guimarães, was filled with joy after securing a spot in the final match. He said: “I am proud of my team, especially the way we played in the third set. We played against the world champions and we won
3-0. It is very important for us. It is the turn of a new page, Russia is out and now we have to think about the next match when we play against Serbia or USA tomorrow.”
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