Turkey wins the 2011 CEV Girls’ Youth European Championship
The final showdown of the 2011 CEV Girls’ Youth European Championship declared Turks as the victorious team.
The young Turkish squad demonstrated a stellar performance and wrote a new chapter in the history of volleyball. The Girls’ Youth National Team of Turkey held of Italian counterparts for 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, and 25-19) victory on Sunday, May 8, 2011.
The influential final game was played at the Baskent Sports Hall in TVF Sports Complex in Ankara, Turkey. Around 4,000 spectators witnessed the live action of volleyball, while a great number of international fans watched the live streaming of final encounter
on FIVB TV.
Turkish Girls’ squad added more glory to the many international achievements obtained by the country in recent times. The wonderful work of Turks includes the gold medal claimed only two weeks ago by the boys here in Ankara.
On the other hand, Italian team was equipped with great player-line. They had not lost any match in the final round. They came across different types of competitors but did not allow anyone to hinder their performance.
They finished the prelims with the final score of 5-0 and clawed their way to the semi-finals. The team maintained a perfect rhythm and clinched success in the semi-final as well. They were fully prepared to take on hosts in the final encounter of the tournament.
It was the real test of their attack and defence capabilities.
The Italian side opened the match on a very strong footing. Caterina Bosetti and Elena Perinelli of Italy formed a great duo and raised their team’s score. They developed a great chemistry and good timing between them and put up a combined effort. The two
players stormed the opponents’ half with convincing shots. It was mainly because of them that Italy enjoyed a strong lead of 4 points over Turkey at the first technical timeout. The home crowd was in utter surprise as the outsider team was in the leading role.
However, the vital timeout provided an opportunity to the home squad to formulize a better strategy for the opponents. The mentor of Turkish Team, Motta urged the players to pay more attention to the movement of ball over the net.
As the play resumed after the timeout, Turks had a new resolution to overcome the power of Italians. They put up a spirited effort and managed to break the flow of rivals. Turks added consecutive points and marked their presence in the court. Seyma Ercan
of Turkey came strong on opponents and wrecked their defence line. Italians resisted in full force but could not avoid the chances of tie at 10-all.
The better attack and defence strategy enabled home team to surpass the visitors. Italian team suffered the setback and gave way to better status of Turks. The Baskent sports Hall echoed the happy slogans of local fans. The spectators waived Turkish flags
and screamed out their lungs, in order to support their team. At the second technical timeout, Turkey led the score with a margin of two points (16-14). On the other side of the net, Italians re-aligned their positions and responded with terrific shots. The
tie of points at 18-all created a great thrill in the game. Both sides played with best of their tactics and tried to touch the finish line in first place.
Turks made a difference near the end of first set. The restricted Italy at the score of 21 and achieved the set points at 25.
The success in opening set paved a way for hosts to put more pressure on Italian team. They started off with a lead of 8-7 and widened the gap of points at second technical timeout. Italian team threw everything in attack but failed to achieve desired results.
Turks once again enjoyed the spotlight by winning second set (25-22).
The third set of the game had some sort symmetry with the previous set. Turks picked up a lead of 2 points at the first break.
Moreover, it seemed as if Turk spikers found their real form in third set and heavily influenced the opposite side. The difference of points stretched to 10 points at the next mandatory stop. Italy lost momentum and suffered the sheer damage of defeat in
third set. The hosts Turks tightened their grip on the European Title and celebrated the night.
Tags: