Turkey vs. Slovenia – 2011 CEV Girls Youth European Championship, Final round
The third day of the final round of 2011 CEV Girls’ Youth European Championship saw some of the most scintillating performances of the tournament.
One of the matches, which created a lot of buzz, was an interesting encounter between hosts Turkey and Slovenia. The thrilling 5-set match was full of suspense and uncertainty as the situation remained undecided until the final moments of the match.
The battle for supremacy continued for more than two hours. Eventually, Turks emerged as the victorious side. They posted 3-2 (25-11, 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, and 18-16) victory over Slovenes. Turks most needed this triumph against Slovenia as they had lost
their previous match to Poland at home soil.
The passionate and loyal Turk fans demanded a fair play from their team. The emotional support fans worked for home squad and they marked their second victory in the final round of the championship. The Baskent Sports Hall echoed the slogans of victory by
spectators after Turkey’s success in the match.
The Turks were really looking for redemption in the match against Slovenia. Turkish squad was generally believed to be more favourable for victory. However, the Slovenian team, which was competing at the final round of the Youth Championship for the first
time, had performed exquisitely well in their final round opener. They had defeated Poland, who proved be a detractor for Turkey in the second match. Hence, it was quite an interesting match to watch. The local fans gathered in masses to witness the thrilling
action.
The girls around Turkish captain Damla Cakiroglu opened the match with confident shots. They formed good combinations and came up with a strong offensive attack.
As a result, Turkey promptly attained better status with a lead of 8-3. On the other side of the net, the Slovenian captain Nika Blagne tried her best to keep the team motivated. The Slovenia squad resisted to the early strike of Turks but could not stay
in the way of deadly spikes. The Turks quickly moved to 16-6, where Slovenia stood 10 points behind them. The uproar of local audience enticed Turks to put an end to the first set at 25-11.
In the following set, Slovenia hit back strongly. They found the rare gaps in the Turkish half and spiked the ball in right areas. The wonderful crosscourt shots created trouble for the defence expert of the Turkish side. Slovenia did not stop and managed
to build a lead of 8-7 at the first technical timeout.
In the meanwhile, Turks tried different ways to break the tempo of Slovenian players. Anyhow, Teja Kolbl of Slovenia kept on hitting point-scoring shots. The hosts trailed behind with a gap of three points at the second timeout.
Around that time, the game was also interrupted for a short time due to the bad light. After the play resumed, Slovenia further extended its lead. Turks struggled to regain the control of operations but Slovenia denied their efforts. The second set ended
with Slovenia’s success at 25-21.
The seesaw battle continued and Turks raised their heads in third set of the game. The led the game at first and second technical timeouts. Turkish stars, Seyma Ercan and Ece Hocaoglu did an amazing job in digging and diving. Turkey led the game for a good
amount of time but the Slovenian squad made its presence felt near the finish line. They suddenly attacked from back row and stole the third-set win from Turkey. Turks were literally flabbergasted with a stunning comeback of the Slovenian team.
Nonetheless, they outclassed Slovenian opponents in the fourth set. The home players exhibited a stellar performance and tied the game score at 2-2 by capturing fourth set. The rhythm and tone was set for Turkey to put an end to the tussle in final set.
Moreover, the Slovenian players looked visibly exhausted as the game entered the third hour. Slovenia fought bravely but Turks had better luck in the fifth decisive set. Slovenia dropped the final set with a narrow gap of just two points, while Turks celebrated
the victory.
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