Serbia stuns Brazil in opening match of second round – 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship
Serbia gave out one of its best performances against world champion Brazil in the opening match of the second round of the 2011 FIVB Girls’ Youth World Championship on Tuesday, August 16. The Serbs demonstrated a stellar performance and held off Brazil for
a 3-2 (26-28, 21-25, 25-21, 25-17, and 17-15) victory in a five set thriller. The Baskent Sports Hall in Ankara, Turkey saw the Serbian’s celebrate the victory over Brazil, after the two teams came head-to-head after a break of almost two years.
Brazil lost the match but still it had the honour of having top-scorer of the match. Gabriela Guimaraes did a great job at attack and defense. She was credited for match-high 25 points. Bianka Busa led the scores on the Serbian side by clipping 20 points.
She justified her position as captain and enabled her team to walk away with victory. Her team-mate, Nikolina Lukic, chipped in 19 points, while Nikolina Lukic contributed 18 points. It was a combined and spirited effort from the Serbian players, which allowed
them to overcome the power of the South American team.
The match was an intense fight from start to end. Serbia built up the lead at the first technical timeout and managed to put some pressure on the rival side. Brazil struggled but could not stop Serbia as they inched forward. The difference of points increased
at the second technical timeout as Brazil lagged behind by seven points. However, Gabriela of Brazil supported the team in the need of the hour and added some quick points. The score tied at 21-all and it seemed as if Brazil was back in form. However, the
charged-up Serbians continued their efforts and captured the first set by a close margin of two points.
Brazil hit back in the following set and tried to cover the deficit. They came up with a different approach in the second set and Brazil equaled the score by clinching the win.
Afterwards, the match progressed like a see-saw but Serbia extended its lead by winning the third set. However, Brazil bounced back in the fourth set. At the end of the fourth set, Brazil and Serbia had claimed two sets apiece. The game entered the final
set and put both teams to the test. It was tight affair but eventually Serbia emerged as winners of the match.
It was quite a moment for the Serbian coach, Milan Grsic. He was simply overjoyed with the tremendous performance of his team against defending champion Brazil. He expressed his emotions in the following manner, “I’m happy; this was our first win ever over
Brazil. We lost 2-3 in 2009 Girl’s Youth World Championship final in Thailand, but were the luckier team today. It’s a big moment for Serbia’s volleyball.”
Bianka Busa, the Serbian captain, disclosed her thoughts as well and said: “It was a very tough and intense game, but we managed to keep cool. Mentally we were very strong today. We knew that we can beat Brazil, we always believed in our chance.”
Brazilian mentor Mauricio Thomas acknowledged the good effort of the Serbian team. He further explained the reason for Serbian dominance by saying that they displayed better serving and solid blocking. Players of the opposite side took full advantage of
their tall statures and dominated the Brazilian team. Mauricio hoped to meet Serbia again in one of the final round matches.
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