The Netherlands and Brazil entertained the fans at the Topsportcentrum in Rotterdam this Sunday, delivering a match full of turnarounds. The Dutch seized an important victory and finished in first position in Pool A, while in the other match of the day, Argentina recorded their first victory, outclassing the team of Rwanda in three sets.
Women u20 2021
The Netherlands top the charts in Pool A
The Dutch beat Brazil in a cat-and-mouse game, Argentina finish third
Published 07:16, 11 Jul 2021
Argentina finished their Pool A campaign with a straight-set win over Rwanda. Having lost to Brazil and the Netherlands on the previous days, Argentina had no hopes of finishing in the first two. Head coach Pablo Martin Ambrosini made some changes to his starting roster, giving the chance to all his players to appear on the court. Rwanda showed some improvements in their performance, reaching their highest score in the competition (18 points in the first set). Argentina, however, seized all the important opportunities, finishing with 10 aces and four blocks. Dalma Nicole Perez and Valentina Vaulet recorded 10 and nine points respectively, while for Rwanda Albertine Uwilingiyimana was the best scorer with seven points to her name.
"We gave it our all today, we knew it was an opponent that we could outclass. We were fighting for each point because each team that is here, at the Championship, has the potential to cause a surprise", Bianca Cugno, opposite of Argentina said.
Brazil and the Netherlands entered the court at the Topsportcentrum Rotterdam for the last battle in Pool A - a decisive matchup for the final standings in the group. The Dutch team delivered a great comeback, losing the first set but then claiming the next three, saving as many as six set points to eventually congratulate themselves with three out of three wins. Brazil finished in second position with two victories and one loss.
A nail-biting race marked the first set, with both sides showing equal skills in the different components. Jette Kuipers of the Netherlands, on the serve, was the co-hosts' trump card at the beginning of the next set. The Dutch started performing better on attack, and even though Brazil responded with good blocks, the Netherlands tied the set score. Highly motivated, they came back into the match, continuing to spike hard, speeding up on the block and serve too (eight aces in total, compared to four for the Selecao). Again, Elles Dambrink was above all her rivals, hammering 31 points.
“We really played as a team. We gave all our energy and were fully focused on scoring. Each point matters," said Netherlands oppoiste Jette Kuipers.
