Not many expected it but Italy showed a pure demonstration of power against Russia (who competes under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee) at the opening of the women’s volleyball tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Italy beat the ROC (the official name of Russia in Tokyo for the well-known doping affair that led to the disqualification of its athletes) in the first match of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s volleyball tournament. Davide Mazzanti’s girls showed a pure demonstration of power in Pool B’s encounter, achieving a clear win: 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14). The first set was a fierce fight, with too many errors on the part of Italy’s main weapon Paola Egonu, but after having narrowly won it, the ‘Azzurrine’ found its rhythm and earned two more sets without problems. Ultimately, Egonu produced game-high 18 points. Sarah Luisa Fahr set up 4 blocks. Monica De Gennaro had 85.7 % reception (12/14). Arina Fedorovtseva scored 10 points for the ROC.
Jordan Thompson emerged as the leader of the United States in the team’s first match in the Olympic Games in which it swept Argentina with 3-0, also in Pool B. She tallied 20 points through 65.2 % attacking efficiency (18/23; 3 errors). Jordan Larson’s defense was the extra that brought the squad of Karch Kiraly to a confident start to the tournament as she made 86.7 % reception (13/15).
2020 Tokyo Olympics, women’s volleyball tournament, group stage – Day 1:
ROC – Italy 0-3 (23-25, 19-25, 14-25)
USA – Argentina 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20)
Serbia – Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-20)
China – Turkey 0-3 (21-25, 14-25, 14-25)
Japan – Kenya, 12:40 p.m. CET
Brazil – South Korea, 2:45 p.m. CET
