German players celebrating
The German team dominated their opponent from start to finish and held advantages of 10-3 in blocks and 6-4 in aces. The winners committed only 12 errors to 27 by the defeated side.
Margareta Kozuch topped Germany with 16 points while Christiane Furst added 11 including six blocks. Sidarka Nunez had 12 points and Milagros Nunez charted 10 for Dominican Republic. Both teams have three points and 1-1 win-loss record.
Germany took a 5-1 lead behind the offensive actions by Ssuschke-Voigt and Furst. Hanke followed a spike by Brinker with a powerful ace that Cabral was unable to handle to give Germany an 8-3 advantage. Three spikes in a row by Kozuch expanded the lead to 11-4. The European team was in the driver’s seat 16-7 when teams arrived to the second technical time-out following spike and ace by Ssuschke-Voigt and Beier. A few spikes from Nunez and Cabral gave the big crowd something to cheer for but the damage was already done. Furst scored for set-point and one Dominican error closed the action 25-16.
Brinker scored with two aces and Kozuch produced pair of aces for an 8-3 margin for Germany. Nunez came off the bench and sparked a Dominican comeback at 12-9 with one spike followed by two aces but Kozuch reacted with a spike and Furst blocked to restore the order and Germany led 16-10. Two spikes by Kozuch gave Germany a comfortable 20-13 margin. Vargas, Eve and Rivera had three consecutive points to cut the distance at 21-17, before Vargas netted a serve. Two Dominican errors closed the set 25-18.
Two blocks by Furst contributed to an 8-5 lead for Germany in the third set. Spike and block by Vargas followed by one stunning spike by Nunez tied at 9-9. The teams battled point by point until 14-all when Cabral’s spike went long and Beier hit a quick spike for the 16-14 Germany advantage. Mambru and Cabral hit two in a row for a 16-all tie. Kozuch’s spike combined with an opponent error gave Germany a two-point lead at 19-17. One ace by Kozuch expanded the gap to 22-17 and Germany took the set and the victory 25-19.
