Game 2 is also a seesaw of emotions, but this time Conegliano comes out on top, returning the insult to Scandicci and going on to win away from home in the tie-break. The situation is back to a draw (1-1), and the third act of an unpredictable and beautiful championship final will be on Wednesday at the Palaverde (8.30pm RaiSport HD SkySport). The score was 3-2 for Imoco, with scores of 23-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23, 15-11 distributed in 155 minutes of battle. After the first match won by Scandicci with a comeback in the tie-break, Conegliano almost came close to having a crisis but came out of it very well: however, it cannot remain calm even when faced with the prospect of having Isabelle Hook (27 points) and play at home the next one, against one Ekaterina Antropova 34 points (2 blocks 3 aces). Meanwhile, the men’s match 2 will be played on Sunday in Monza, where Vero Volley tries to respond to Perugia’s victory in the first match.
Zhu Ting, Egonu’s rival and China star: “I came out of depression, I want the Olympics”
by Mattia Chiusano
The first set seems like a continuation of the tie-break from game 1, the Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano starts strong this time and goes 8-5, Antropova makes mistakes a couple of times but is just adjusting her aim. In fact, he also drags him to the block (1 point out of 10 at the end of the first set), then his ace makes it 15-13, a double advantage confirmed by Nwakalor. At this point Haak wakes up, with two hands out from the second line, which combined with the shots of Lubian e Plummer (5 points for the three) are even worth +5. Finished? No, because a mixture of errors and attacks from Antropova puts the match back on par, and a block of Carol gives the momentum to Savino del Bene Scandicci, who totally believes in it and closes the set with a long attack from Antropova and an error from Lubian.
It’s a match between teams that never give up, and the second set is also about balance. Conegliano, however, takes advantage of Haak’s growth (8 points), while Antropova halves her balance (5 points), and Scandicci in general makes a little more mistakes. Imoco extends to 12-9, then to 14-10, 18-14. The blocks of Carol and Nwakalor bring the hosts back to -2, but Cook it is decisive in the phase in which Conegliano starts again up to 23-18, and then closes with an attack by Lubian.
The reaction, obviously, is from Scandicci, who reaches a 12-9 score signed by Antropova (8 points), the gap between the two teams widens to 4 points when Haak misses a lob, followed by a diagonal shot into the net also by Lanier. BarboliniScandicci’s coach, reports that Lanier is invading, Antropova attacks twice successfully, while her rival Haak misses both the diagonal of 21-15 and the serve of the set lost 25-19.
Conegliano had never experienced such difficult moments in recent years in the championship, but found the strength to react to the shock that immediately gave Scandicci total confidence. He takes it back at the start, then again when the dunks from Antropova and Zhu are worth a +2 which is soon reabsorbed. Barbolini complains of a drop in service, meanwhile Cook with two attacks brings Imoco to 17-14. Antropova splits between reception and attack with a hands out (19-18), she also finds the blocking hands Herbots, then she blocks herself and it’s 21-19 Scandicci. Conegliano’s answer is in the hands of De Kruyff and Haak, but Antropova puts it down, then unloads it onto the wall: her tenth point, and it’s still not enough. They answer her Fahr (block) and Haak, then a dribbling foul by Nwakalor gives the set to Conegliano.
One of the constants of these matches is that it is easy to fool yourself, because the rival who seems stunned is ready to strike. It so happens that Scandicci with Herbots serving easily takes the lead to 3-0, confirmed at 5-2 by Zhu and Antropova, but then breaks the balance Gennari coming off the bench, which paves the way for the Panthers’ comeback accomplished by Plummer, Haak, by Haak with two decisive blocks, but also by De Gennaro who with a miraculous recovery makes it clear why Velasco wanted her back in the national team. 15-11 at the end, Wednesday starts almost from scratch.
#Volleyball #Conegliano #wins #tiebreak #Scandicci #emotional #championship #final
– 2024-05-02 14:32:09
