Serbia rout Turkey to challenge Netherlands in battle for EuroVolley gold
Baku, October 1, AZERTAC
If the first semi-final featuring Azerbaijan and the Netherlands had turned into a spine-tingling thriller, Serbia were on a class of their own as they routed Turkey in three sets (25-17, 25-12, 25-21) to secure their spot in the gold medal match of the 2017 women’s EuroVolley. On Sunday, Serbia will play the ‘Oranjes’ - and the eventual winners of the ‘grand finale’ will secure their second European title in history, since Holland won gold in 1995 on home soil - and Serbia did just the same in 2011 in Belgrade. Serbia easily disposed of Turkey - as much as they had done earlier this summer in a match on schedule for the Intercontinental Round of the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix. The gold medal match will be a repeat of the game Serbia and the Netherlands played last Saturday in Pool D in Ganja - where the Serbians recorded one of their four 3-0 victories in the tournament so far.
Serbia had looked extremely dominant in all of their previous matches in the tournament and their start to the semi-final with Turkey was just as imperative. Tijana Boskovic, Brankica Mihajlovic and the other members of the Balkan team put on a show as they outclassed their opponent in all aspects of the game - a performance which eventually resulted in a compelling 25-17 win for the 2015 bronze medal winners and silver medallists from the Rio 2016 Olympics.
The course of the game did not change much in the second set with Serbia looking in full control (8-3, 16-8) as the second semi-final was a lot more one-sided than the previous, dramatic matchup featuring the Netherlands and hosts Azerbaijan. Serbia were just adding another chapter to their superb campaign at the 2017 women’s EuroVolley - where going into the semis, they had dropped only one set in four matches to Belgium during the pool phase they contested in Ganja. It looked as if Turkey had spent too much physical and mental energy in their 3-0 dispatch of Russia the night before and Serbia won the second set at a canter (25-12).
Despite many changes to their initial starting six, Turkey could not find a way to pose a threat to Serbia - and a visibly frustrated Giovanni Guidetti asked for a time-out as Serbia stormed to a 6-2 lead early in the third set. Turkey somehow were able to get closer (16-14) as it was not easy for Serbia to keep that same level of concentration and intensity for the entire game - and a double block on Boskovic eventually paved the way towards the 18-all. No matter how it would end, some excitement was finally there - but Serbia soon set their sights on the finish line as they claimed three points in a row (22-19) and deservedly sealed a 3-0 victory.
Other news in this section
