Italy earns a spot in FIVB World Championship semi-finals in front of 11,000 fans
With a win on Wednesday in front of their home crowd, Italy took top spot in Pool O of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball’s (FIVB) Men’s World Championships, and advanced to the semi-finals.
France needed to not only win to advance, but score enough points to beat Italy and the USA in the total points tie-breaker.
In front of over 11,000 fans, Italy beat France 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 25-27, 25-19) to finish the round with a 2-0 record, and earn a semi-final matchup against Brazil, the defending champions. With the
loss, France finished third in Pool O with an 0-2 record, and will advance to the 9-12 bracket of the semi-finals; they’ll take on the Czech Republic. The United States took second place with a 1-1 record, and will face Germany in the 5-8 group.
“The team had to react after the defeat with the USA,” said France captain, Oliver Kieffer. “We played a good match, but at the end Italy won. Our goal was to arrive at the tie-break but it did not happen.”
Simone Parodi and Cristian Savani led the Italian attack with 18 and 16 points respectively. Luigi Mastrangelo added another 12 points for the Azzurri. France’s top scorer was Romain Vadeleux with 17 points,
and Micolas Marechal and Kevin Le Roux both had 13 for Les Bleus.
Inspired by a loud home crowd, the Italians played aggressively with a strong attack and efficient blocking. With France struggling on offense, Italy cruised to a 25-18 win in the first set.
“We started out in an aggressive manner since we were not satisfied with yesterday’s performance,” said Parodi. “Tonight we demonstrated that we can play well. We have been practicing and aiming at this
goal for the last five months.”
Italy continued to press the French team in the second set. They put up a wall that the French were unable to get around, with Andrea Sala and Mastrangelo combining for four points from blocks. France
went from an 82 per cent receiving rate in the first set, to a miserable 58 percent in the second set. Suddenly Italy was up 2-0, and France was on the verge of elimination.
Even at this point it was unlikely that France could win a tie-breaker against the Italians, but still the French rallied in the third set. With the Italians looking tired, France surged to a 12-9 lead.
Mastrangelo tied it at 12 with an ace a short time later, but then France settled down, and gained the next five straight points. Once again the Italians battled to tie it, this time at 22 each, but staring elimination in the face, France managed a 27-25 victory
in the third set.
France looked poised to tie the match at 2 sets apiece with an early 10-5 lead in the fourth set, but Italy again came back to tie it at 12. This time Italy held together, and won the match 25-19, clinching
their spot in the semi-finals.
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