Torneo di qualificazione al Mondiale U20 (14-16 maggio)

La nazionale femminile U20 di Luca Cristofani è partita alla volta della Russia, dove ad Anapa dal 14 al 16 maggio affronterà nell'ordine Polonia, Slovenia e Russia nel secondo round delle Qualificazioni al Mondiale di categoria.


Le atlete convocate dal tecnico azzurro:

Bonvicini (Amatori Orago),
Cambi (Bakery Piacenza),
De Bortoli e Grigolo (Volley Pool Piave),
Angelina e Degradi (Uyba Busto Arsizio),
Berti, Danesi, D'Odorico, Mabilo, Orro e Piani (Club Italia).


Ruoli:
alzatrici Orro e Cambi;
le centrali Danesi, Berti e Mabilo;
i martelli De Gradi, D'Odorico, Angelina;
l'opposto Piani;
i liberi: De Bortoli e Bonvicini.

(27-25; 25-21; 24-26; 25-13)

Danesi 17 punti


Italy came out with all guns blazing, standing out especially at blocking, to claim an 8:3 lead at the first technical time-out of the opening set. Poland, on the other hand, struggled in defence and their deficit grew bigger and bigger, eventually reaching seven points. However, at some point the girls in red and white jerseys could regroup and their comeback was complete once they levelled the score at 21 all. The final section of this set was quite dramatic with Italy eventually edging past at 27-25.
Poland were off to a mighty start in the second set leading the way by 8:3 at the first technical break in a display of high-speed Volleyball. Both teams showed some terrific and powerful attacks – something you do not always get to see at this level – but it was Italy to have the upper hand once more, this time on a block of Vittoria Alice Piani for the final 25-21.
The scenario did not change much also in the third set where Italy set the pace for most of the time before Poland clawed back to restore the balance at 18 all. In the end, the Polish girls could avoid a straight-set defeat and their 26-24 win called for a fourth set.
This was absolutely one-sided with Italy getting back on track after the setback they had suffered in the previous one and with a terrific 25-13 they pocketed their first win in the tournament.

Vittoria Alice Piani (pictured, #15) commented: “The first set was very difficult, but we worked hard and could bring it home. We lost the third set in a bad way. Though it was difficult, we tried to stay as focussed as possible and we eventually won the match. We have to continue to work hard.”

Her mentor Luca Cristofani added: “It was an intense match both physically and psychologically, but my team stuck together. This is only the very beginning of our season and so we are happy with the result.”

Il sestetto azzurro U20 femminile, fortemente targato Club Italia, ha esordito nel torneo di Qualificazione ai Mondiali di categoria imponendosi sulla Polonia 3-1 (27-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-13). Le ragazze di Luca Cristofani hanno avuto la meglio al termine di una gara che ha visto quasi sempre l’Italia avanti nel punteggio. Nel primo set le azzurrine sono riuscite a resistere ad un tentativo di rimonta polacco, mentre nel secondo hanno vinto in maniera più netta. Il terzo parziale ha visto la reazione delle avversarie, prima che nel quarto set l’Italia chiudesse i giochi in maniera perentoria.
A livello individuale ottime prestazioni di Piani, Danesi e D'Odorico, che hanno chiuso il match con bottini importanti, lasciando ottime sensazioni.

La giovanissima Vittoria Piani (punto di forza dell'U18) ha realizzato 20 punti (54% in attacco), con 4 muri. La centrale Anna Danesi si è esaltata al servizio (4 punti) e soprattutto nel suo fondamentale preferito a muri (6). Sofia D'Odorico si è messa in mostra in ricezione (71%) e battuta (25 esecuzioni in soli 4 parziali), mettendo a terra 17 palloni.
Domani secondo impegno alle 17 con la Slovenia.

ITALIA - POLONIA 3-1 (27-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-13)
ITALIA: Cambi 1, D’Odorico 17, Danesi 18, Piani 20, Degradi 6, Berti 5. Libero: De Bortoli. Bonvicini, Orro, Angelina 3. N.e: Mabilo. All. Cristofani
POLONIA: Baldyga, Kazala 2, Moskwa 2, Smarzek 16, Grzelak 1, Smieszek 7. Libero: Lysiak. Gromadowska 5, Pisla 15, Piotrowska 6, Mras, Stronias. All. Popik

(17-25; 26-24; 25-22; 25-19)


De Gradi 16 punti.


Slovenia caught an excellent start in their live-or-die match with Italy as their block worked just fine to contribute to a 16:9 lead at the second technical time-out. The Italians, on the other hand, made a number of mistakes, especially in attack, and Slovenia quite naturally brought the first set to an end at 25-17.
The course of the game changed in the second set where Italy set the pace with Slovenia trying to stay in the race. Italy could especially rely on the contribution of yesterday’s best scorer Anna Danesi and with some aces they widened their lead to 14:9. However, Slovenia fought back and after scoring five consecutive points, they almost levelled the score at 15:14. The final section of this set was very dramatic with the Italians breaking away first but Slovenia played with resilience to restore the balance at 24 all. Still Italy scored the last two points for the final 26-24 and this way the ‘Azzurrine’ restored the equality in the match.
The score remained tight in the early stages of the third set up to 10 all with Italy then edging ahead by three points at the second technical time-out. Though Slovenia fought bravely through to the end, Italy had the upper hand at 25-22.
The fourth set was another close affair up to 16 all. However, Italy scored three in a row and could set their sight on the finish line; Slovenia’s libero Maja Pahor suffered an injury and this proved to be the last blow to her team’s hopes to go for the tie-break. The role of the libero was taken over by Katja Mihalinec but Italy cruised safely through to a 25-19 set win to finish it off.

“We are very happy we could win, but are not happy with the way we played in the third set. We hope that we will be playing better tomorrow and without making as many mistakes as we made today,” commented Sofia D’Odorico.
“We did not play that well and throughout this match we made many mistakes,” said her coach Luca Cristofani. “Slovenia played a good game, they made only very few mistakes and this was a problem for us. You should not forget that last year they won silver at the European Championship and so this speaks for their value. They also play some powerful Volleyball and you need to adjust to it.”

Ancora una vittoria, ancora un 3-1, per le Azzurrine U20 impegnate nel girone di Qualificazione al Mondiale.
La squadra di Luca Cristofani ha superato anche la Slovenia, imponendosi in rimonta, dopo aver ceduto il primo set.
L'Italia pur commettendo molti errori ha messo in mostra una buona organizzazione di gioco, un'ottima ricezione e un buon attacco dove si è messa in mostra ancora una volta Vittoria Piani (67%). Bene a muro Danesi (3 vincenti). Miglior realizzatrice Degradi (16).
Le azzurrine torneranno in campo domani nell'ultima gara del girone alle 17.30 italiane contro la Russia.
Italia-Slovenia 3-1 (17-25 26-24 25-22 25-19)
ITALIA: Cambi 4, D'Odorico 12, Danesi 10, Piani 12, Degradi 16, Berti 5. Libero: De Bortoli 2. Bonvicini, Mabilo 5, Angelina 1, Orro. All. Cristofani.
SLOVENIA: Scuka 15, Mihevc 5, Markovic 3, Sobocan 12, Pintar 8, Mori 5. Libero: Pahor. Zbicajnik, Mijoc 1, Mihalinec. Non entrate: Dukic e Blazic.

(14-25, 25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 10-15)

De Gradi 17 punti

In what was the ‘big finale’ of the tournament held in Anapa, Russia came out with all guns blazing recording four straight points and forcing Italian coach Luca Cristofani into an early time-out. The break did not help and Russia scored another three in a row as their block worked just superbly. Italy got their first point at 7:1 after a mistake by Svetlana Serbina. Tatiana Iurinskaia quickly got the home side back on track (9:2) and by the mid of the set the Italians worked really hard in order to reduce their deficit (14:8). As they felt like their opponents were attempting a comeback, the home heroines kept the pace high and worked really hard to not let the game slip away from their hands. Iurinskaia and Anastasia Barchuk hit ball after ball with immense power to make it 21:9 and even though Italy scored some more points also on mistakes by their opponent, a powerful kill by Angelina Sperskaite brought the first set to an end at 25-14.

The second set started with a flurry of mistakes from both sides. The Russians struggled in defence and reception and eventually replaced their libero with Kristina Kurnosova joining the actions for Natalia Guskova. This was a good move as Russia got back on track and claimed a 7:5 lead after scoring three consecutive points. However, it did not last long as the Italians started to play with more consistency and got to the front before two aces in a row by Anna Lazareva made it 10:11. Russia set the pace by the slimmest margin (16:15) at the second technical time-out and after a very tough discussion with the first referee, Italy’s Sofia D’Odorico received a yellow card. As Russia made a number of mistakes in attack, they lost the leadership in the game and D’Odorico eventually brought the set to an end at 25-21 for Italy.

After this setback, the Russians played with even more determination in set 3 (8:7) but again they started making mistakes, this time in defence, and trailed by three at the second mandatory stop. Russia could level the score at 19 but Italy remained in control making it 23:21 in their favour. Though the hosts scored two in a row to restore the balance, because of some critical mistakes they eventually lost this set as well by 24-26.

The Russian players looked tired in the early stages of the fourth set and they again showed problems in reception and defence; Italy used their chance to break away (11:8) but after the second technical time-out Russia got to the front (19:18) and could hold on to a small lead to end it at 25-23 and call for the tie-break.

The final set started with a 3:0 lead for Russia but the Italians responded quickly to even the score. The fans from the stands never stopped cheering for the home side and with Angelina Lazarenko standing behind the service line Russia got another four points to lead by 8:3 as the teams switched sides of the court. There was a lot of tension in the air since the prize at stake – a ticket to the World Championship – was a valuable one. Italy helped Russia with some more unforced errors and this way the home side cruised to the final 15-10 that takes them on the plane to Puerto Rico where the World Championship will be held later this summer.

“There were no weak opponents at this tournament,” Russia’s coach Petr Kobrin said. “Italy proved their strength beating Poland and Slovenia in their previous matches. I am very happy that my girls could stand the pressure which got even higher when we trailed 1:2. They played as a team and they supported each other in an exemplary way so that in the end we got our ticket to the World Championship and we do not have to wait for the last spots to be assigned as per the World Ranking. This victory is very important since it is an honour for us and for Russia to compete at the World Championship. And we deserved to be there!”

Russia’s star player Anastasia Barchuk commented: “Italy did not perform that well in the first set whilst we were well prepared and we had analysed very carefully their previous matches. In the second set we relaxed a bit and this way Italy could draw level. They changed their pace and started playing more aggressively but we did not falter. Our victory today comes from a lot of team work, we helped each other as much as we could and tried to execute the plans we had agreed upon with our coach.”

Italy’s coach Luca Cristofani said: “We played well and I am happy with the performance of my players. Some moments were difficult for us as I counted at least three mistakes made by the referees and I got very angry, so in the end I received a red card. However, I am happy with the way we performed at this difficult, yet important tournament.”

Qual.Mondiali U20F - L'Italia battuta dalla Russia, la qualificazione passa per il ranking Fivb

Italia-Russia 2-3 (14-25 25-21 26-24 23-25 10-15)
ITALIA: Cambi 5, D'Odorico 14, Danesi 15, Piani 4, Degradi 15, Berti 12. Libero: De Bortoli. Bonvicini, Mabilo ne, Angelina 1, Orro. All. Cristofani.
RUSSIA: Serbina 6, Kurnosova, Novikova, Sperskaite 19, Konovalova ne, Barchuk 9, Cheremisina ne, Lazareva 19, Libero: Guskova, Gilfanova, Lazarenko 11. all. Kobrin.


All'Italia di Luca Cristofani non è stato sufficiente giocare una bella e convincente pallavolo per battere la Russia e conquistare direttamente la qualificazione alla rassegna iridata.

Le ragazze italiane giocheranno i Mondiali soltanto in virtù dei cinque posti assegnati dal ranking Fivb, alle migliori non qualificate.

Le azzurrine hanno iniziato il match contratte ed hanno ceduto nettamente il primo parziale, poi sono rientrate in campo con più convinzione nei propri mezzi, vincendo il secondo ed anche il terzo set (decisamente combattuto sino alla fine). Nel quarto l'Italia ha continuato a giocare la sua pallavolo, ma non è bastato per chiudere la gara. Nel tie-break la Russia è apparsa più concreta ed ha portato a casa la vittoria e la qualificazione diretta.