The teams of Italy and Spain set the pace to be proclaimed the first champions of the 2014 WEVZA U16 Girls’ Championship. Both squads remain undefeatable after the fourth day of competition in the tournament being held in Valladolid. Italian beat the Netherlands in straight sets, the same for local hosts that beat Belgium. The last game of the day in Polideportivo Pisuerga sports hall presented the two teams that had not won until today. Switzerland claimed its first victory over Portugal in three disputed sets.

Italy continued its winning streak, cruising to a speedy 3:0 victory over the Netherlands (25-12, 25-15, 25-16). The Italian team started at a high level and gained an important advantage. In the second set, Italians managed to keep the good performance in block and spike. The Dutch team tried to react, with variations in rotation but Italy got another advantage over their opponents to dominate the game until the end.

“I think we played very well. I am very happy with my team. Today we played with girls that had fewer opportunities until now and they have shown that they are ready to play. We wanted to be aggressive, and we did so,” said Pasqualle D´Aniello, Mentor of Italy.

Spain achieved its third victory in a row 3:0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-20) over Belgium. Local hosts showed another good performance in block and serv in the first set. The control by locals was extended to the second set, but Belgian side found the way to balance the game, although they could not prevent the partial victory of Spain. The third set was marked by continuous ties, only broken in the final rush by the Spanish efficiency. Local heroines claimed the third victory, so to keep in the leadership of the WEVZA U16 Girls Championship.

Fortunato Sánchez, coach of Spain said: “We faced the match as the one we played against the Netherlands. In the second set we didn’t make as many mistakes as in the previous day. Belgium reacted and it created some doubts but we won with character. This game was harder than playing against the Netherlands, despite the final result”.

Robin de Bont, coach of Belgium commented: “We knew that Spain is a very good team, not only as a collective, but also at individual level. We started to play hard in the end of the second set. In the third one we played bad, and playing like that, we had no chance to win”.

Portugal and Switzerland searched their first win and after a close match, Swiss girls could smile at the end, beating its rivals in straight sets (25-23, 25-22, 27-25). In a disputed match, the two teams clashed in a thrilling game. Switzerland took advantage of their opportunities in the final rush of the first set. The Swiss side imposed powerful spikes in another close end for the second period. Portugal started enraged the third one, with their best performance of the match, and they controlled it until 17:21, the decisive moment of the set. Switzerland came back to clinch its first victory in the WEVZA U16 Girls Championship.

Click here for all the results of the competition.

Click here for the gallery of the tournament.