Defending champion Belgium struggling in 2011 CEV Girls Youth European Championship
The defending champion of the 2011 CEV Girls’ Youth European Championship, the Belgian Team is having a hard time in the final round of the championship.
The team, which had an ambition to secure the title for another year, is quite not getting the right tone for an impressive play. Belgium is playing under the tag of Pool I, which has teams from Germany, Italy, Greece, Ukraine and Slovakia. Belgium made
a very good start in the final round and held off Greek girls for an amazing straight-set victory on day-1. However, the real disaster hit them in the following matches.
Belgium was defeated by Ukrainian team in their second match on Sunday, May 1, 2011. The resilient rivals attacked the pride of defending champions and earned victory in the five-set thriller.
The Belgian team was yet trying to recover from the shock of defeat that German girls added more fuel to their injury in the third match. Belgian and German teams clashed on Monday, May 2. The match spanned over four sets and finally ended in Germany’s favour.
The German girls showed their attack and defence capabilities, while the Belgium side had to suffer the setback. Germans posted 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-19) victory over the defending champions. The Bestepe Sports Hall in Ankara, Turkey hosted this
scintillating episode of volleyball.
Belgium started off things with early points and picked up a lead of 8-6. Lorena Cianci of Belgium played an effective role and chipped many points in her team’s score. The start of game was good for Belgium but gradually Germany became stronger.
They took some risks and managed to break the lead of the opponents. German squad chased the score and registered more points to gain better position in the game. Jennifer Geerties of Germany was the centre of attention as she made good use of her hands
and hit unstoppable shots.
Belgium lost the grip on ball and saw Germany rising up. Once Germans attained the leading role, they did not stop until the end of the first set. The defending champion squad dropped opening set with a margin of 6 points.
The second set was another incredible show of volleyball by the German team. Geerties and Carina Aulenbrock developed a great chemistry to storm Belgium’s half with groundbreaking shots.
However, the raged-up Belgians also responded in the same tone. They hit back strongly and built a lead of 8-7 at the first technical timeout. Meanwhile, Germans put up a spirited effort and once again pushed Belgium behind at the second mandatory stop.
Then Germans played fast and quickly covered the length of second set. They extended their lead of 2-0 by posting 25-19 in second set.
Belgian side hit back angrily in the following set and engaged German in a heavy strike of volleys. They chipped consecutive points and built a strong lead of seven points at the first break. Germany trailed behind Belgium throughout the third set and eventually
received 20-25 defeat.
It was good comeback by the Belgian team but they could not keep the same potential in fourth set. Germany came strong on the rival side and claimed match victory by winning the final set.
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