NOS Sport•vandaag, 23:41
Volleyball players just can’t perform at the European Championships and lose thriller to Italy
The Dutch volleyball players just failed to reach the semi-finals of the European Championship. A stunt was in the air for a long time, but the team of national coach Roberto Piazza eventually lost to reigning world champion Italy after a thriller of five sets: 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 16-25, 25-23, 12- 15).
It was the seventeenth time that the Netherlands and Italy faced each other at the European Championship. The Dutch team won four times, most recently in 2009.
Strong start
The Dutch team started very well and overwhelmed the Italians playing at home. The audience, which had some whistling and booing for the Dutch team, became increasingly quiet as the set progressed. Nimir Abdelaziz was on a roll just like in the eighth finals and showed the Italians all sides of the field with hard serves and smashes.
And if the ball did not go to the captain, Fabian Plak and Gijs Jorna also gave it away. They also scored the necessary points.
The Italians, who saw Roberto Russo leave the field injured, lost it for a while and saw the Netherlands create a big gap on Bennie Tuinstra’s serve.
CEVNimir Abdelaziz
At 24-18, the Dutch team got the first set point. Italy was able to get rid of one, but at 24-19 Abdelaziz showed no mercy. He hammered the ball hard against the ground.
Roles reversed in set two
Italy put their affairs in order in set two and put more and more pressure on the Netherlands. The Dutch team had difficulty controlling the hard services. On the Dutch side, the service did not run as well as in the first set, allowing Italy to play its own game. The Dutch block was regularly lost.
The team of Piazza, the Italian national coach of the Dutch national team, could no longer close a five-point gap and the Italians only continued to lag further behind. Italy won the set 25-17 and tied the score in sets.
CEV National coach Piazza gives playmaker Keemink instructions
The Italians also dominated in the third set. The Dutch team showed good play at times, but Italy had things in order. Abdelaziz was regularly blocked and the other Dutch attackers also had difficulty getting the ball on the ground.
Yet the match had not yet been played. The Netherlands recovered well in set four. Service gun Abdelaziz once again took the team by the hand and had a significant share in the big lead (17-10) that the Dutch took. Italy did something back, but could no longer prevent a fifth set.
In the deciding set, Abdelaziz provided a dream start. Thanks to his serve, the Dutch team immediately opened up a two-point gap, but the Netherlands could not maintain that lead. Italy prevailed and won the set 15-12.
OKT as the end of the international summer
There is now one important tournament left for the Netherlands this summer: the Olympic qualifying tournament where a ticket for Paris is at stake. That tournament will be held in China from September 30 to October 8.
2023-09-12 21:41:39
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