VNL: Italy wastes and then falls in tie-break with Brazil
VNL: Brazil-Italy 26-24; 25-27; 18-25; 25-19; 15-10
The streak of consecutive victories for women's Italy in the Volleyball Nations League stopped at five. Julio Velasco’s girls, in fact, were defeated in a comeback by Brazil with a score of 3-2 (26-24; 25-27; 18-25; 25-19; 15-10), in a match in which there was no shortage of regret for the Azzurri for not making the most of the important opportunity to close out the games in the fourth set, where they were leading 15-11. Among the ranks of the Italians, the excellent performances of Paola Egonu, Anna Danesi and Myriam Sylla, who finished with 29, 15 and 11 points, respectively, were not enough.
Brazil got off to a fast start and in a short time managed to escape on 9-2. Italy, however, did not lose heart and, as the set went on, managed to close the gap and get back in touch until 24-24, where a service error by the Azzurri and an attack out by Egonu handed the partial to the South Americans.
In the second fraction it was again the vice world champions who placed the first stretch, taking a 14-9 lead. As happened in the opening set, Julio Velasco’s players manage to come back and play it point to point. In the final stages it was the Azzurri who were more incisive, as Antropova’s entry and Sylla’s wall gave Italy the partial.
In the third set, the momentum shifts in favor of Paola Egonu and her teammates, who immediately lead 7-3. In the central part of the fraction, Brazil manages to come back under taking advantage also of a few too many errors on serve by the Azzurri, who, however, are able to place a second stretch that proves decisive to overturn the result.
The fourth partial è characterized by many regrets for Italy, which managed to pull ahead 15-11. From that moment, however, Julio Velasco’s girls dropped in intensity, suffering first the comeback and then the overtaking by Brazil, which closed the accounts on 25-19.
In the decisive tie-break, after an initial point-to-point phase, it was the vice world champions who dictated the pace going to the change of court leading 8-5. The Azzurri reaction was not long in coming, but at the most beautiful Brazil raised the level even further by posting six points in a row that were worth the success.
Despite the loss, Italy remains in an advantageous situation with a view to qualifying for the Final Eight and the Paris Olympics, as the margin over Holland in the FIVB rankign è is still quite wide. The Azzurri will return to the court on Sunday, June 2, at 1:30 p.m. to face host China.
