The players of Jannis Athanasopoulos started the match against the tenth team of the world ranking without respect. Good blocks and self-sacrificing defense were supported by a solid attack and they led 12:7. They lost the lead, but before the end, the substitute Emy Kneifl jumped to 20:18. The Dominican players made mistakes in long exchanges and the Czechs took the lead after winning 25:21.
“We played against a very strong opponent who is ranked 10th in the world. We had to be mentally very strong to win the match. The players played according to the set tactics, served aggressively and we were able to react to changes during the match. We held together in crucial moments , and that’s why I think we deserved this victory,” said coach Jannis Athanasopulos of the Czech women’s volleyball team.
In the second set, the players from the Caribbean improved their defense and refined their attack, leading most of the time. The Czechs, who are ranked seventeenth, erased the loss and took a 21:20 lead, but then conceded five points in a row and lost the set.
But they won the third set again. They created a decisive lead at the beginning of the second half, when they jumped to 19:12 when served by Gabriela Orvošová with the contribution of several point blocks. Although the opponents got closer in the end, they did not prevent the Czech Republic from winning 25:21.
Disputed decision
In the balanced fourth set, the Czech team reached for the win by three points. He still held a key two-point lead at 23:21, but the opponents equalized. Havelkova’s subsequent attack resulted in a match point, but then Kneiflová spoiled the serve after coming off the bench. The Dominican Republic won the set 26-24 to force a tie-break.
“At 24:23, the Dominicans made a mistake in their position, I and my colleagues from the bench pointed it out, but the referee did not react. So the match should have ended 3:1,” Athanasopulos was angry.
The Dominican representatives made several mistakes in attack and let cheap balls fall on the scoreboard. Thanks to this, the Czech team had a clear upper hand in the fifth set, and even though its lead narrowed at the end, it won by three points. Michaela Mlejnková and Helena Havelková, who collected 21 points each, were particularly dominant in attack throughout the match. All-rounder Gabriela Orvošová added another eighteen points.
“It’s a shame that we didn’t make it to a 3:1 victory, but I’m glad that we pulled together and made it to the winning end in the tie-break. The decisive factor was fighting spirit and the fact that we didn’t give up under any circumstances. Victory over the Dominican Republic is important for us. It is a team that is above us in the ranking, so we will get a lot of points for the ranking. And it is through the ranking that we could possibly get to the Olympics. It is of course challenging, but if we enter every match as aggressively as we did today , I think nothing is impossible,” said Czech captain Mlejnková.
2023-09-16 19:42:07
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