Italvolley hunting for encore and round of 16 against Cuba

The first phase of the World Championships being held in Thailand is now in full swing. After the clear success in the opener over Slovakia 3-0, Italy is preparing to face Cuba in the challenge valid for the second day of Pool B.

Tomorrow at 12 p.m. Italian time (live on Rai 2 and DAZN), the Azzurri will be back on the court in Phuket for the match with the Caribbean women in turn fresh from their defeat in the opener at the hands of Belgium. Today was a day of intense technical and physical training for captain Danesi and her teammates who will try to take a decisive step toward the round of 16 tomorrow against Cuba.

Presenting the match with Cuba is the Italian women’s spiker Stella Nervini ready for this new challenge after yesterday’s positive absolute debut in a world championship with Slovakia.

“We try to think match by match,” said the 2003-born setter, “and let’s say that the first one served to break the ice, especially for me who was at my first overall. I think with Slovakia we managed to have a solid performance and everything went as it should have even if, clearly, there are always things to file and improve. Today we are thinking about Cuba and preparing in the best possible way for the second challenge here in Phuket. Going back to yesterday, I have to say that the moment of the anthem was nice and intense and emotional, it’s a moment when we get a little more emotional. But then thanks to my teammates, who I consider the strongest players in the world, I got into the match pretty quickly. I am lucky to play on a team like this because it allows even those like me who are new to the game to remain calm and serene. Yesterday defense and counterattack worked, as well as the reception to allow our central players to get into the match. From a mental point of view we kept calm in the first set in which Slovakia defended great and played to the death as often happens against us. We remained clear-headed and avoided getting nervous an approach we should also use against Cuba. It is a bit of an unknown, physical team that will surely be able to put us in difficulty. We will have to be focused and follow our staff to bring home this match” too.