Serbia sweeps past Japan to top Pool F: FIVB Girls Youth World Championship - Volleyball
A Pool F match of the FIVB Girls Youth World Championship was played between Serbia and Japan at the Baskent Sports Hall in Ankara, Turkey, on 17 August. What followed was a one sided affair in which the Serbians were able to make a clean sweep over their
opponents in an easy win on the second day of the tournament.
The first set of the match started off close but before long, the Serbians were leading the set with the Japanese trailing all the way until the end. The loss of the opening set did not improve the game of the Japanese squad which experienced a further decrease
in their performance enabling the Serbians to secure another comfortable win. The third set saw some sparks fly between the two sides but the effort came in too late from the Japanese as the Serbians played with confidence that led them to win the match at
the following final set scores: 25-17, 25-12 and 25-20.
The coach of the Serbian team, Milan Grsic, made these comments at the press conference after the match had ended in favour of his team: “Discipline was the key to success today. But still we have to win our last match in Pool F to qualify for the semifinals.”
The Japanese coach, Ichiro Hanzawa, shared his views by saying, “I take my part of responsibility as my substitutions created some kind of confusion. I hope we’ll do it better tomorrow.”
The first set of the match started with a Serbian lead at 8-6, an advantage Serbia kept on extending all through the set. The Japanese tried hard to shift the momentum in their favour but their efforts proved to be futile against the powerful onslaught of
the Serbians. Eventually, the Serbians bagged the opening set of the game at 25-17.
Capitalising on the momentum built by winning the previous set, the Serbians played the second set with confidence while the Japanese fell to making errors. Serbia took the lead at the beginning of the set and did not let go of it till they had sealed the
deal at 25-12.
The loss of the first two sets put some energy into the Japanese but the challenge they posed to the Serbians was not enough to scrap off a win. Therefore, Serbia won the final set at 25-20.
Natasa Cikiriz was able to lead all scorers by adding a total of 18 points to the Serbian side of the score board while the Japanese Kasumi topped her team by posting nine points.
With their recent win, the Serbians have been able to grab the top spot in Pool F with a 2-0 record in the second round of the championship.
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