WC M: Azzurri are going to Rio!!!

Italy

Big day for Italy, huge disappointment for Poland. But, that is sport. After everything they went through this summer, Azzurri managed to bounce on their feet and be the best when it was most needed. They defeated Poland in the crucial game and secured a ticket for Olympic Games in Rio 2015!

It started great for Italian crew. They had a control over the first set all the way until 18:15. But, then Mateusz Bieniek (6 aces on this game!!!) started with his amazing serves. Polish middle blocker helped his team make 4 points in a row and take over the lead – 19:18. Still, white end reds could not increase the margin no matter how hard they tried. They had a chance at 22:21 but Massimo Colaci made a marvelous save and Italy tied the score again – 22:22. Then Bartosz Kurek sent the ball out of bounds – 23:22 for Italy. Azzurri did not use the first set point at 24:23, but they did use the second one. Osmany Juantorena scored and Italy won the 1^st set by 26:24.

The second set was totally different. Poland had the control, while Italy was trying to catch up. It was all tied at 20:20 when Poland scored two points in a row and made the crucial margin – 22:20. Italy tried everything to level the score again, but Michal Kubiak did not let that happen. The captain of white and reds made such a difficult “kill” for 24:22, while then he made a block for 25:22. It was 1-1 in sets.

Poland continued with good game and opened the third set with 6:3, but it was like they stooped right there… Italy firstly tied the score at 7:7 then they took over the lead 10:8, while eventually Azzurri escaped to 18:13. Poland only managed to make this set a bit interesting by approaching to 23:21, but then Ivan Zaytsev increased the lead of his team to 24:21, while the same player finished the set with supersonic spike – 25:22, 2-1 for Italy.

Everybody knew that whoever wins the fourth set will qualify for the Olympic Games. It was 16:15 for Italy when boys led by Gianlorenzo Blengini made the final rush. They escaped to 19:15 then to 21:15, 24:19… Rafal Buszek missed a serve and t was over! Italy won the game by 3-1!

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