Volleyball Update: Serbia enjoys straight sets victory over Costa Rica in FIVB Women’s World Championship
The wild cats have been unleashed with the start of 16th FIVB Women’s World Championship today (Friday- October 29) in several cities of Japan. In this connection, the bronze medallist team from Serbia opened the championship with a refreshing
win of 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, and 25-14) over Costa Rica, while playing at the Yoyogi National Gynamsium, Tokyo, Japan. The teams played the first round opening match under the tag of Pool A.
The 31st ranked Costa Rica’s team is one of the struggling squads that fall in the category of underdogs. The team met with comparatively strong Serbian side and lost the first match in straight sets. Serbia was equipped with excellent tools to
launch their power over the Costa Rican team. The prolific show of strength earned them success in the very first match of the tournament.
Point-to-Point Review
Serbia opened the match with Jelena Nikolic’s blazing shots. The Serbian players produced perfect serves and hit the ball with firm hands. Jelena Nikolic of Serbia was fond of throwing the ball at lightning speed. Similarly, Costa Rica brought in Verania
Willis who helped their score to rise up. She spotted the rare gaps in Serbian court and directed the ball to target. The score soared up with a close gap of points. Serbia picked up a lead of 8-7 at the first technical timeout (FTT). The vital technical timeout
gave a chance to the teams to sit down and have a chat about the next phase of the combat.
The game resumed and Serbia tried to stretch the difference of points by hard-hitting. Krsmanovic and Jovanan Brakocevic formed a very good offensive combination. They complimented each other in a great way and scored valuable points for Serbia. The powerful
serves by Brizitka Molnar created more problems for the Costa Rican defenders. Serbia progressed in the game with 16-11 lead over Costa Rica. Serbs attained a perfect tone to dominate their opponents. Costa Rica relied on Mariela Quesada’s attack but Serbs
received the ball with skill and didn’t allow Costa Rica to score points. As a result, they could only help 15 points in first set, while Serbia pulled off set-victory by posting 25-15.
The charged-up Serbian team opened the second set with impressive shots. They attacked from different angles and earned consecutive points in the early few minutes of second set. The convincing spikes and good defence enabled them to build a lead of 8-3
at the first technical timeout. Costa Rica’s Rasic was on serve and she used full power of her forearms to push the ball. Anyhow, the powerful serve couldn’t prove fruitful and landed outside the line. Serbia jumped to 12-3.
Costa Rica was desperate to break the rhythm of Serbian team. They realigned their positions and attacked with a new determination. The strategy worked and they were able to chase the score. Willis and Paola Ramirez Vargas of Costa Rica minimized the gap
to 11-15. In this situation, Serbia focused on Costa Rica’s defence expert, Karen Cope and threw shooting balls in their court. The Serbian spikers once again took the score to 20-13. Costa Rica fought back and tried different methods but Serbia was quick
to thrash 25-18 victory in second set.
The sense of victory put a new thrill in the Serbian squad. They stormed Costa Rica’s half with ground-breaking spikes in third set and drafted them under pressure by 7-1 lead. Nikolic was simply on fire; she hit spikes after spikes and extended the lead
to 9-2. Costa Rica was barred to score, while Serbia moved to 12-2. Costa Rica couldn’t put up with the Serbian strike and gave way to 16-6 at the second technical timeout. Serbia continued with success and secured the third set at 25-14. Costa Rica lost the
match to Serbia.
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