Cagliari, Italy, September 18, 2010. The second day of the European Qualification Tournament for the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix featured once again some great matches as basically all European top teams are currently competing in Cagliari. The hosts of Italy, Russia and Germany stamped their second victory and are currently topping the charts there on the charming and beautiful island of Sardinia.
The Netherlands vs. Germany 1-3 (22-25, 26-24, 18-25, 21-25)
Germany defeated 2009 European silver medalist Holland in four sets to claim a second victory in a row in Cagliari and assert itself as a major contender for the two slots at stake for next year’s FIVB World Grand Prix. The “Oranjes†had to be content with the second set that they eventually claimed at 26-24 after a very close battle while Germany’s overall performance was indeed very convincing. The girls around Italian-born coach Giovanni Guidetti are an extremely solid group with Kozuch and Ssuschke being this afternoon the best scorers with 20 and 18 points respectively. Dutch captain Manon Flier contributed 20 points for her team with 42% of efficiency in attack.
Russia vs. Bulgaria 3-1 (25-15, 25-18, 18-25, 25-13)
Russia did emulate Germany and stamped another victory, this time against Bulgaria, to stay tuned for a ticket to qualify to the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix. The girls of coach Kuzyutkin were too strong for the young Bulgarians; Gamova and veteran Lioubov Shashkova topped the charts for Russia with 21 and 18 points respectively. Russia’s superiority was evident having a look at the final stats, with 8 blocks (only 5 for Bulgaria) and 47% of efficiency in attack (vs. 40%).
Turkey vs. Italy 0:3 (15-25, 18-25, 16-25)
The hosts of Italy did put up a real show of strength tonight as they totally outclassed Turkey in straight sets. The Italians currently lead the operations in this round robin tournament together with Germany and Russia that have also stamped two victories so far in Cagliari. The Turks appeared immediately too weak to be real contenders for the local heroines, even though the “Azzurre†are not yet playing at their best and their physical shape is also not optimal. Coach Barbolini opted for the same starting line-up that was to be seen yesterday against Bulgaria, i.e. with captain Lo Bianco as setter, Ortolani opposite, Barazza and Gioli middle blockers, Del Core and Piccinini wing spikers and Enrica Merlo as libero. Best scorer of the game was Turkey’s star Neslihan Darnel with 17 points.
