Germany
The second match of the day provided the audience in Samokov with elite Volleyball and Greece eventually had to surrender to Germany at the end of four hard-fought sets. Germany caught the best start (8:7) but after that break Greece got full control of the game so that their opponents did not score any point up to the second technical time-out. Germany did not lose composure and was able to fight their way back displaying a perfect block and good actions in offense. As both teams were showcasing great defense the rallies were very long and Greece eventually had the upper hand at 25-22 via a series of attacks killed by their middle blockers.
Things changed quite dramatically in the second set where Germany broke away in the score (8:2) and Greece could no longer compensate for such disastrous start, with the set ending in a terrific 25-9 for the side mentored by head coach Han Abbing. Germany imposed their tempo also in set 3 (8:2) and playing with real confidence could comfortably claim a 2:1 lead (25-16) in the match.
The quality of the game dropped down in the fourth set where both teams made many errors from the serving line but Greece was the first able to find back some more consistency thereby moving up 16:12 by the second mandatory stop. However, Germany did not let it go and with another rush down the final stretch could finish it off at 25-19 for a well-deserved 3:1 win.
To read more news from this competition click on 2013 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U20 World Championship – European Qualification.
