Netherlands, China upset unbeaten pair at world Grand Prix
18/7/2005 16:00
A team with a 3-0 win-loss record against a team with a 0-3 win-loss
record, the result should be a formality, right? Well, in Volleyball it isn't,
especially at the World Grand Prix Final Round. Italy (3-0) went into their
match with the Netherlands (0-3) as the clear favorites, and everything was
going with the form book when Italy won the first two sets 26-24, 25-18 on
Sunday. They even had a match point in the third set when leading 24-23, but
Dutch captain Ingrid Visser soon put an end to Italy's hopes of a straight-sets
victory. The Dutch took the third set 26-24, and then the next two 25-21,
15-10 to finish as the deserved winners. "If you fight you can beat each
team," was the assessment of Alice Blom, who was in full bloom for her orange
team with 15 points. "Losing the first two sets made everything more relaxed for
us and there was no tension. We just did what we could, and came together as a
team and played together." Olympic champions China then came out and
demolished defending Grand Prix champions Brazil 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) in
the second upset of the fourth day. As the players left the court, one of the
Brazilian technical staff commented, "Did anyone see the ball?" Praise indeed
for China, who were like a red blur in front of the off-colour
Brazilians. This pair of results left Italy and Brazil still ahead of the
pack but now with 3-1 records, meaning the Brazil-Italy clash on Monday will
decide the destiny of the title. Looking ahead to the match, Brazil's
captain, Valeska Menezes, said, It is very, very important, the final, Brazil
and Italy. "We have seen videos of Italy and their game is strong. I think the
serve and blocking will make the difference." In the last match of the day,
Olympic bronze medalists Cuba beat Japan in a thriller 3-2 (21- 25, 25-20,
20-25, 28-26, 17-15), saving one match point in the decider along the
way. The rankings after four days are Italy and Brazil (3-1), China and Cuba
(2-2) and Japan and the Netherlands (1-3). Monday's action sees the
Netherlands play Cuba, Brazil take on Italy in the afternoon showpiece and the
all-Asia clash between Japan and China in the evening.
Xinhua News
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