GB women fall to visiting Italy in third match of the Olympics – Volleyball News
Despite a great start in the match, the hosts Great Britain women’s volleyball team lost to Italy in the third match of the Olympics at the Earls Court on Wednesday.
Visitors exhibited a better performance and clean-swept the home team, 3-0 (27-25, 25-12, and 25-12). Around 11,800 volleyball enthusiasts came to witness the cracking action of volleyball, which continued for more than 60 minutes. Italy remained undefeated
on day-3 of the tournament and celebrate another fine victory.
Carolina Costagrande played an instrumental role in Italy’s success. She finished with match-high 12 points, which included 10 spikes and two blocks. She was followed by Lucia Bosetti and Simona Gioli, who chipped in 11 and 10 respectively.
GB had only one player in the double-digits in the form of Lynne Beattie, who scored 10 points.
Set-1 of the match was a neck-to-neck fight between two teams. Home team was equipped with the emotional support of fans, while Italy had the confidence of previous two wins in the tournament. The British and Italian hitters came into stride and displayed
an incredible action of volleyball. The score soared up with close intervals and tied at 22-all. The situation remained undecided until the ending moments. However, Italy managed to sideline hosts with two-point lead in the end (27-25).
In the second set, GB team seemed visibly disappointed and disgruntled. They put up a huge effort in the first set, but still suffered the loss. On the other hand, Italian players enjoyed a great vibe and further improved in the second frame. They locked
the hosts at a low score of 12 and claimed second set.
Italy comfortably won the final set of the match with identical score of 25-12 and announced match victory.
Maria Bertelli, the captain and the defensive expert of GB squad, shared her views after the match. She said: “The first set was almost perfectly executed”. “Win that, and we would have left them rattled. That was our game plan. With a world rating of 69
we were not expected to win any sets. We had our chance at 25-25 but did not take it. That was crucial. But we are still hopeful of a win against Dominican Republic, who have not won any matches yet”.
Rachel Laybourne further added: “In the second set we were slow off the blocks. It’s always hard in rallies to come back from a five-point gap. I think it’s commendable to push Italy as we did”.
After three matches, GB stands with 1-2 record. In the next match, they are scheduled to take on Dominican Republic and have a chance to outdo the visitors. Let’s wait and see if GB takes advantage of the familiar conditions and display a better performance.
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