Defending Champion Belgium loses to Ukraine – 2011 CEV Girls’ Youth European Championship
After making a stunning start to the final round of the 2011 CEV Girls’ Youth European Championship, the defending champion Belgium could not deal with the hard spiking of Ukrainian girls.
Belgium clashed with Ukraine in their second match of the final round on Sunday, May 1 at the Bestepe Sports Hall in TVF Complex. Ukraine put up a valiant effort in defeating the tough rivals and finished with the final score of 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 22-25,
25-23, and 15-13). The city of Ankara in Turkey experienced the great vibe of volleyball as crucial final round matches are underway.
Ukraine was strong since the very start of the game. They opened the first set with powerful serves by Elena Geber. She served with great precision and also worked out great long-court shots.
Ukraine put early points on the scoreboard. Belgium’s Nathalie Lemmens killed a few of fast spikes by Ukrainian hitters but still Belgium trailed behind, while the opponents kept on adding points.
Elisaveta Ruban of Ukraine showed no mercy and hit the ball from different angles to raise her team’s score. Belgium was three points behind Ukraine at the first technical timeout. The gap of points further stretched at the next technical break. Ukrainians
kept their leading role until the end of first set, while Belgium received the loss of opening set with a gap of two points (23-25).
Revenge was the order of second set for Belgium team obviously. They started with shots full of rage and tried to break the rhythm of opponents. Ukraine could not resist and suffered the setback, while Belgium went up on the scoring chart.
Belgium was in full control of the game at the second mandatory stop. Ukraine, on the other hand, dropped a few points just because of reception errors. Belgium took advantage of the silly mistakes of the Ukrainian side and widened the points’ gap. Soon,
they were in a position to hit the equaliser by posting 25-19 on the board.
The third set was a point-to-point battle between the two teams. Belgium was back on track after winning the second set, while Ukraine was trying to retake control of operations.
In the meantime, the spectators got to witness some extreme action on the centre court. Long rallies were exchanged and both sides did not miss a chance to score points. The first technical break saw a minor gap of just one point as Ukraine led the game
with better score.
The defending champions from Belgium continued with their effort and finally managed to push Ukraine behind the line. They used the two-point lead at the second technical timeout and did not allow Ukraine to come up. Another set slipped from the hands of
the Ukrainian team and Belgium led the game score with 2-1.
It seemed as if the Belgian side would easily capture the fourth set. The success in two consecutive sets had boosted their morale. They opened the third set on strong footing and scored early points, while Ukraine was yet to be on board.
Ukraine struggled to make a comeback but the Belgian side appeared too strong. They enjoyed a lead of six points over Ukraine and remained ahead of them. However, Ukraine struggled to overcome the power of Belgium and did so near the end of the fourth set.
Ukraine suddenly came out of blues and tied the game score at 2-2.
It was an interesting twist in the match as both sides were up for another tiring set, which was the climax of the match. Ukraine led the game at first technical timeout and maintained lead until the next break as well.
Afterwards, Belgium put up a great effort and tried to minimise the points’ gap. They were successful in decreasing the gap but Ukraine proved to be the better team anyway. Ukraine finished the final set with a score of 15-13 and won the match.
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