Netherlands drops quarterfinal to hosts Italy in four-set match: CEV Championship
In the quarterfinal match of the 2011 CEV European Women’s Volleyball Championship, the Dutch team took on host Italy on Wednesday, September 28, as Italy emerged as the better team with a 3-1 victory. The totally packed up Palaiper competition hall in Monza
City hosted the match, which completed its run in 108 minutes.
The Italians secured the first two set by posting 25-21 and 25-20 on the board, while Dutch team hit back and managed to steal third-set win from Italy, 25-21. Meanwhile, home squad made quick come back in the game and finished the match by claiming fourth
set at 25-18.
Leo Lo Bianco and her teammates displayed a great show of volleyball and gave a hard time to their Dutch competitors. Hosts ruled the game and recorded 18 block kills in the match. Simona Gioli and Carolina Costagrande hit 20 points apiece for the winners,
while Antonella Del Core clipped 19 kills.
Equipped with stupendous emotional support of local fans, Italy went straight into action in the first set. They comfortably jumped to an undisputed 8-3 and put the opposite side under pressure. Italy’s Costagrande performed amazingly well and added consecutive
points. In response, Netherland attacked through Maret Grotheus and Manon Flier but most of their efforts were futile. Italy controlled the operation and closed off first set with 25-21 on board.
After dropping the opening set, Dutch started out aggressively in the second set and cruised past to 6-1. Nevertheless, Italians turned the tables as Simona Gioli and Del Core formed a strong combo and broke the tempo of Dutch players. Italy earned better
status and improved to 2-0 by winning second set.
Despite the loss of two sets in row, Dutch played without taking pressure and raised their heads by capturing third set of the game. Italy lagged behind with four points in fourth set 21-25.
Encouraged by 4,500 delighted fans, Italy retook the control of game and announced match victory after winning fourth set, 25-18.
Talking about the match, the Italian coach Massimo Barbolini said that his team made perfect opening in first but started getting trouble in the following sets. The unforced errors led them to the loss of third set. However, they overcame the flaws towards
the end of the match and pulled off success in fourth set. He concluded that Italian team is able to play with a result-oriented mindset when needed.
Manon Flier, the top-hitter and captain of Dutch side was disappointed with final result. She admitted that her team’s performance was good enough to win against Italy. She praised the good reception of Italy during match, which barred Netherlands to a low
score.
Italy is now confirmed for semi-final match that will be played on Saturday, 1st October in Belgrade, Serbia.
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