Italy and Germany will play the big final of the 2015 WEVZA U18 Championship – Women on Saturday as the two teams stayed unbeaten through their semifinal matches. The Italian and the German teams ran over Switzerland and Spain, respectively to reach the title-deciding match of the tournament celebrated in French city of Mulhouse.
The Italian overcame the illusion of the local squad, as Germany beat Belgium in three straight and closed sets. The teams of Belgium and The Netherlands qualified for the 5th place classification finals of the WEVZA Tournament.
Belgium 3 – France 2 (16-25, 25-10, 18-25, 25-21, 15-7)
Belgium gave a step forward towards the fifth position of the tournament after beating France 3:2 in a disputed game full of alternatives. The French took the better start and won the first set 16-25. Belgium returned to equality in the match after taking away the second set 25-10. The third and fourth periods were just as close, and the match went to the tie-breaker. During the last period, Belgium took the lead quickly and had 5 points of advantage when the teams changed side. At the end, Belgium won this set 15-7 and will play the match for the 5th place on Saturday.
The Netherlands 3 – Portugal 1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-13)
The Netherlands and Portugal starred in the exciting race for the 5th place. Portugal won the first set 23-25 after lot of changes in the leads in the beginning of match. After this, The Netherlands showed off their talent in the second set, and extended the control during the rest of the match. Even if Portugal had a chance to return in the game at the beginning of the third period, the Dutch players kept the control of the game and won the set 25-18. The Netherlands won the fourth and last set of the match easier than the third to compete for the fifth place Saturday against Belgium.
Italy 3 – Switzerland 1 (25-12, 27-29, 25-15, 26-24)
Italy confirmed its condition of favorites to the title after their victory in semifinals against Switzerland. This match was played in four set, two of which were very disputed. After a great start 25-12, Italy found more difficulties to win a second beautiful set between two teams who didn’t want to let go. Switzerland won this battle 29-25. In the third set, Italy played great Volleyball to take the lead 25-15 despite the great level demonstrated by Swiss players. After wining the fourth set, Italy closed the semifinal, producing an undefeated condition for this team and assuring the ticket to the final for Italy.
Germany 3 – Spain 2 (23-25, 17-25, 25-10, 25-19, 15-10)
Germany will play the Final of the Tournament in Mulhouse after beating Spain in an extraordinary semifinal. The Germans were able to come back from a 0:2, so to force the tie-break and win in a heart-breaking final of the match. The first period was absolutely exciting. Both teams presented an excellent performance in the set and the exchange of points became the main sign of the period. In an equaled end of period, Spain had luck on its side and achieved the 23-25. The Spanish players continued on a roll after the recess and managed to take a lead in the period after the second technical time out. The German players managed to recover at the end of the set but could not avoid the 0:2 (19-25).
However Germany, one of the great dominators of the tournament in the initial stages of competition, did not give up and with 0:2, aimed for the tie-breaker. Despite Spanish attempts to win this game, Germany won the third and the fourth sets to go to the tie-breaker. The momentum was clearly on the German side, since, after coming back from a 0:2, it also lead the game in fifth set as they won it 15-10 to play the match for the first place against Italy, the same final than the tournament in Schaffhausen last year.
Schedule of the last competition day:
10h00 – Battle for the 7th place: France – Portugal
12h00 – Battle for the 5th place: Belgium – The Netherlands
14h00 – Battle for the 3rd place: Switzerland – Spain
16h00 – Final: Italy – Germany
