USA remain the only unbeaten team in Pool C of the FIVB Women's U20 World Championship that is co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium. On Saturday, the U.S. players had no problems beating Thailand in three sets, while Russia delivered a comeback to emerge victorious over Turkey. Which teams will proceed to the next phase of the competition will be decided on Sunday, the last day of play in the pool.
Women u20 2021
USA remain perfect, Russia victorious after a thrilling match against Turkey
USA outclass Thailand while Russia record their first win and are back in the game
Published 07:20, 10 Jul 2021
Inspired by Friday’s win over Russia, the USA team recorded a second victory in Pool C, thus making a huge step towards the next phase of the competition. Only in the first minutes of the match did the Thailand team keep the intrigue alive. However, with the first set unfolding, the players coached by Daniel Fisher slowly took control of the action, and their domination continued until the referee's final whistle. USA were able to better organize their game in all the components, showing again strong performance on the block (8) and on serve (11 aces). Emily Londot topped the charts for her team’s win with 13 points to her name, while for Thailand Chaiyaphet Panatda recorded 6.
“We really worked on our timing as a team, making sure that our hands were in the right formation on the block, forming the right defense behind us. It really felt good to feel everything we are working on, as a team, in play, and having it work out so well", Alisson Jacobs, opposite hitter of the USA said.
Turkey and Russia delivered the spectacle of the day, showing top volleyball skills, and delivering long and entertaining rallies. Winning the first set, Turkey started with an 8-1 run in the next, but with substitute setter Viktoriia Kobzar on the field, the Russians came back, speeding up on the attack. From that moment on, both sides put up a real fight down to the wire, but it was the Russian squad that took the right decisions in the important moments. Russia pushed hard on the serve as well, finishing with 10 aces. 12 blocks by Turkey weren’t enough for them to grab the important win. Vita Akimova from Russia and Ipar Kurt from Turkey both finished with 20 points to their names.
“The substitutions that the coach made helped us to relax a bit, and to find back our focus. We were able to show our game. Now we have an important match against Thailand. We will continue on fighting, now is not the time to relax", Tatiana Selituina, captain of Russia said.
