Volleyball Update: Dawn of victory for Germany, Russia and Italy in the European Qualification Tournament
The European Qualification Tournament for the berths in 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix is in full swing this week. A total of six teams are attending this six-day volleyball campaign in Cagliari, Italy. On the first day of the tournament, three matches were
played at Pala Rockfeller Sports Hall.
The tournament stepped into second day on 18th September, 2010 and teams came forward to take on different competitors. This time around, Germany played against Netherlands, while Russia taught a lesson to Bulgaria. The most awaited home-side
match between Italy and Turkey was also played on the same day.
Netherlands slip another chance against Italy
The team from the Netherlands played their first match against Russia and received defeat after long exhausting competition. In the next match, Netherlands collided with Germany but they couldn’t avail the second chance and failed to shake off their bad
impression. Germany posted 3-1(25-22, 24-26, 25-18, and 25-21) victory over Netherlands.
Germany came out too strong in the match and shocked Netherlands with great delivery of ball over the net. The fast paced game was totally dominated by the German team. They didn’t let the Dutch players stay on their feet. The attacking serves passed through
their legs and they couldn’t do anything about it. Germany made a rapid move to achieve victory in the first set. Netherlands put up strike in second set and performed well. They avoided ball-handling errors and attained stability in the game.
Germany had the strong players in its squad, who were able to break the defence circle of Netherlands. They attacked with perfect line-shots and added more points by excellent passes. The German setter should be credited for her great hand-work. She moved,
floated and twisted the ball with a speed of bullet. Somehow, Netherlands had figured out their game-plan and stood like an iron wall in the way of German spikers. Dutch gained confidence in the game by capturing second set. Unfortunately, Netherlands couldn’t
produce match winning shots in the following sets and lost the match to Germany.
Russia keeps-up the good work
The outstanding Russian ladies continued with success in their second match. They defeated Netherland in the first match and raised their points by winning the second match against Bulgaria. Russian team was in good form and easily managed to overpower Bulgaria.
Bulgaria already had the damage of first match as Italy defeated them at home-court. Bulgaria was in the same situation as Netherlands and ironically, they also lost their second match. Russia dismissed Bulgaria by sending 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 18-25, and 25-13)
win.
Russia signalled their victory in the very first set as they claimed success with a good margin of 10 points. They remained consistent in serves and spikes. Bulgaria had a weak defence and that was why they couldn’t stop Russian score. Russia remained consistent
in serving and hitting the ball with precision. They paved their way to the second-set win at 25-18. Bulgaria was in deep trouble after losing the first two sets. Nonetheless, the Bulgarian team still had the spark in their blood. They blocked Russian spikes
and restricted their score. Bulgaria picked up success in third set but Russians made a comeback in fourth set and crashed Bulgarian dream. Russia won the match by capturing three sets in the match.
The hosts celebrated another victory
Third match of the second day was major attraction for fans, as host Italy was playing against Turkey. The match was attended by 2000 spectators. Italy had a great run in the game and swept the opponents in three straight sets. The local crowd cheered their
team and provided them sole-source of encouragement. Italy posted 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, and 25-16) win over Turkey.
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