FUKUOKA (JAPAN)- An Italy revolutionized in formation but not in spirit closed Pool 6 in Fukuoka with the fourth victory in as many matches, overcoming, after Canada, South Korea and the United States, also the young Serbia 3-1 (25-20; 20- 25; 25-23; A victory that is only apparently academic as the points gained for the world ranking will be used to have a ‘sweeter’ Olympic draw. The Italians close the intercontinental phase of VNL with 10 victories and 2 defeats and are now ready to meet their opponent in the first round of the Finals scheduled in Bangkok from 20 to 23 June. Only at the end of the last matches of Pool 5 taking place in Hong Kong (Turkey-Brazil and China-Poland) will the framework of the last act of VNL be defined with Italy which could appear in Thailand as second or third seed of the Finals. All the Italians’ matches will be broadcast live on the global platform DAZN. streaming on VBTV.
Italy starts with Cambi as setter, Antropova as diagonal, Bonifacio and Lubian in the center, Giovannini and Degradi as spikers, and De Gennaro as libero. Serbia of CT Pakkan (Guidetti at home working with the Olympic group), instead responds with the Perovic-Bukilic diagonal, Cikuc and Malesevic central, Cvetkovic and Ivanovic spikers, and Bojana libero. At the start, both teams made so many mistakes on serve that they didn’t allow either of them to get a break. Antropova and Cambi try to give the Italians the right rhythm but on the other side Bukilic, Ivanovic and Cvetkovic keep Serbia in contact (9-9). The first turning point of the set comes with two consecutive aces from Giovannini followed by the beautiful plays of Bonifacio and Degradi (15-12). It was Degradi himself who gave the final blow to the first set by putting down two crucial serves that put Italy at 18-13 which then became 25-20 thanks to the excellent defenses of De Gennaro and the winning attacks of Giovannini and Antropova in response to the last comeback attempt led by Ivanovic. In the second set Serbia got off to a decidedly better start: Bukilic, Ivanovic and Cvetkovic attacked on serve and in attack while the Italians began to lose effectiveness at the net. At 5-10 Antropova hits a shot in attack followed closely by Degradi and a block by Bonifacio. At 10-11, however, Serbia made a new move signed by the Ivanovic-Bukilic duo to which the Italians were no longer able to respond thanks to many mistakes in reception and attack. Ivanovic and his teammates never looked back, closing the score 20-25. In the third game the script changes again: after an initial phase of great balance (8-8), Sara Bonifacio takes center stage with blocks, attacks and a lot of presence. The Serbs rely on Bukilic and Ivanovic while Italy with Antropova flies to +3 (19-16). Italy suffers a counter break from Vidacic with a very profitable turn of service (23-23) and then places the right move with Degradi at full arm and an error from Bukilic (attack out) for the decisive 25-23. The music doesn’t change in the fourth set with Italy dictating the tempo and Serbia chasing. With Degradi, Bonifacio and Antropova increasingly at ease and Bukilici well contained by the newly introduced Spirito, Italy flies away at 15-9 sealed by the ace of an excellent Gaia Giovannini. The +6 translates into confidence which in turn produces the last decisive leap in the match: Antropova puts her weight on her shoulders, resisting the return of a never tamed Ivanovic for the decisive goal that puts the end to Italy’s week 3 Fukuoka.
The words of Julio Velasco-
« Complicated match because first of all Serbia played very well, they defended and attacked as a team with great continuity. Ivanovic, for example, played a great game while we were a bit awkward, perhaps due to the qualification we achieved and the victory over the USA. I didn’t want to change in times of difficulty because I wanted the girls who usually play less to come out of this situation. And I must say that they succeeded, certainly not by playing very well as we did against South Korea, but by adapting to a team that didn’t allow us to play our game. They defended everything, extending many points and in certain situations we didn’t play well while in some situations the girls managed to find the right countermeasures to bring the game home. I believe that beyond the performance this was a good test, an important experience to close a week with four victories and many situations faced. The girls who play well now know that they must and can lend an important hand when difficulties arise in matches in which we will play more. At the Finals we still arrive in training because we have had very little time together to work in a certain way. We met with some on April 8th, then others arrived and finally the players who had played in the Champions League final joined us. We need time without prejudice to the progress made but it is clear that with a view to Paris we will have to take a further step in team and individual growth. In this sense, playing the finals will help us a lot because it will be a probative test that will help us grow. We hope to win them but in any case it will be an important experience ».
The words of Ilaria Spirito –
« They played their hardest and played a very good game with long plays and this should make us proud because we managed to bring it home. I believe there are 14 of us and all ready to give our contribution: this is something important. Whoever is on the field always has the support and energy of those who are off it and this is very nice and certainly represents a strong point in our favor. From a personal point of view, I play as a libero or wearing the other shirt with the spirit of someone who is ready to give everything. I am confident and sure that we will have a great Finals ».
The words of Sara Bonifacio –
« It was a difficult match, they played well especially in block-defense while it took us a long time to adapt to their game. Having said that, I’m happy with how we faced the difficulties, holding on point for point to get another victory. I believe that knowing how to deal with this type of competition is important from a future perspective. Today, due to the many defenses made, I almost felt like a libero but I hope to have also given that pinch of experience to my teammates on the pitch which is useful for defeating the Serbians. In my opinion, after the intercontinental phase we improved our technical and mental solidity: we won some matches well and suffered in others, always coming out of complicated moments. The last defeat dates back to the match against Brazil against which we lost despite playing a good match and this certifies that we know how to deal with difficulties and this is fundamental given that we will face increasingly stronger and more difficult teams to face ».
The Scoreboard-
ITALY-SERBIA 3-1 (25-20; 20-25; 25-23; 25-22)
ITALY: Lubian 7, Cambi 4, Degradi 17, Bonifacio 11, Antropova 17, Giovannini 10, De Gennaro (L), Fahr, Spirito (L). NE: Orro, Bosetti, Sylla, Egonu. All. Velasco.
SERBIA: Perovic 2, Ivanovic 14, Cikuc 10, Bukilic 16, Cvetkovic 3, Malesevic 4, Gocanin (L), Vidacic 5, Sucurovic 2, Mljevecic, Tica 4. NE: Osmajic, Medved (L), Mijatovic. All. Pakkan
REFEREES: Murananka Shin (JPN) and Macias Luis Gerardo (MEX)
Set duration: 20′, 23′, 24′, 23′ Total: 90′
Italy: a 6, sc 15, m 8, et 33.
Serbia: a 5, sc 18, m 7, et 35.
WEEK 3 CALENDAR AND RESULTS–
Pool 5 (Hong Kong, China) 11-16 June
Tuesday 11 June
Germany – Dominican Republic 1-3 (24-26; 25-21; 21-25; 21-25)
2.30pm Bulgaria – China 0-3 (15-25; 12-25; 17-25)
Wednesday 12 June
11.00 am Türkiye – Thailand 3-0 (25-17; 25-17; 25-17)
2.30pm Brazil – Poland 3-1 (10pm-10pm; 10pm-5pm; 10pm-5pm; 10pm-4pm)
Thursday 13 June
07.30am Bulgaria-Thailand 2-3 (11-10pm; 10-10pm; 6-10pm; 10-10pm; 10am-3pm)
11.00 am Germany – Brazil 1-3 (20-25; 22-25; 25-21; 24-26)
2.30pm Dominican Republic – Türkiye 1-3 (25-17; 15-25; 17-25; 18-25)
Friday 14 June
07.30am Bulgaria – Brazil 0-3 (11-25; 11-25; 11-25)
11.00 am Dominican Republic – Poland 0-3 (31-33; 20-25; 16-25)
2.30pm China – Germany 3-0 (25-19; 25-17; 25-18)
Saturday 15 June
07.30 am Dominican Republic – Bulgaria 2-3 (26-24; 23-25; 22-25; 26-24; 1-15)
11.00am Poland – Thailand 3-0 (25-15; 25-23; 25-17)
2.30pm China – Türkiye 3-2 (9pm-10pm; 5pm-25pm; 10pm-9pm; 10pm-11pm; 3pm-1pm)
Sunday 16 June:
07.30 am Germany – Thailand 3-0 (25-17; 25-21; 25-20)
11.00 am Türkiye – Brazil (in progress)
2.30pm China – Poland
Pool 6 (Fukuoka, Japan) June 11-16
Tuesday 11 June
USA – France 3-0 (25-15; 26-24; 25-20)
Italy – Canada 3-0 (25-16; 25-15; 25-14)
Wednesday 12 June
08.30 am Netherlands – Serbia 3-1 (25-20; 25-21; 18-25; 25-12)
12.20pm South Korea – Japan 0-3 (16-25; 16-25; 23-25)
Thursday 13 June
05.00 Holland – USA 0-3 (21-25; 20-25; 22-25)
08.30 France – South Korea 2-3 (11-10pm; 10-9pm; 10-5pm; 10pm-10pm; 1pm-3pm)
12.20pm Japan – Canada 2-3 (25-23; 25-22; 20-25; 21-25; 14-16)
Friday 14 June
05.00 Serbia – France 1-3 (10-10pm; 10-10pm; 11-10pm; 9-10pm)
8.30am Canada – Holland 0-3 (24-26; 16-25; 23-25)
12.30pm Italy – South Korea 3-0 (25-16; 25-11; 25-12)
Saturday 15 June
05.00 Canada – France 3-0 (25-14; 25-18; 31-29)
08.30 am Italy – USA 3-1 (25-17; 19-25; 25-15; 25-21)
12.20pm Japan – Serbia 3-0 (25-22; 25-18; 25-15)
Sunday 16 June
04.30 am Netherlands – South Korea 3-0 (25-21; 25-11; 25-17)
08.00 Serbia – Italy 1-3 (20-25; 25-20; 23-25; 22-25)
11.45am Japan – USA
GENERAL RANKING VNL-
Brazil 10 wins (28 p), Italy 10 victories (31 p)Poland 10 wins (30 p), Turkey 8 wins (24 p), Japan 8 wins (24 p), China 8 wins (23 p), Canada 7 wins 20 p), USA 6 wins (19 p), Netherlands 6 wins (18 p), Dominican Republic 3 wins (10 p), Serbia 3 wins (9 p), Germany 3 wins (9 p), Thailand 3 wins (7 p), France 2 wins (8 p), Korea South 2 victories (6 p), Bulgaria 2 victories (5 p).
WOMEN’S WORLD RANKING (TOP 10 POSITIONS)-
1. Brazil (389.93 p)*, 2. Türkiye (383.93 p)*, 3. Italy (375.45 p)*, 4. Poland (373.60 p)*, 5. USA (349.10 p)*, 7. China (341.85 p)*, 6. Japan (331.62 p), 9. Holland (302.87 p), 8. Serbia (291.04 p)*, 10. Canada (284.76 p).
*teams already qualified for the Paris ’24 Olympic Games. 1 place guaranteed to the Asian national team with the best position in the ranking. 1 place guaranteed to the African national team with the best position in the ranking.
