Netherlands – France
After their unexpected win over Germany yesterday night, the Netherlands continued their winning streak today with a hard-fought 3:1 triumph against France. The Dutch ladies improved their record to 2-1, whilst France experienced their third consecutive defeat at 2013 CEV Youth Volleyball European Championship – Girls. The Netherlands’ Tessa Polder topped the scorers chart with 17 points, including 4 blocks. Romee Polman helped her with 15 units, including 4 aces.
For the third match in a row, the Netherlands easily swept their opponents in the first set (25-18). The second set started pretty much in the same way as Britt Bongaerts behind the service line and Romee Polman at the net secured an early 4-0 lead for the Netherlands. However, the French girls soon picked up their defensive game and reached the tie at 7-7. The rising French team slowly took over control, and at the second technical break they were already leading 16-13. The discouraged Dutch team couldn`t recover from this unexpected French revival, although they tried really hard.
Even though France was still the better team in the first half of the third set (10-4), “les bleus” suddenly lost focus and let their rivals bounce back (25-21). The plot of the match didn’t change much in the fourth set as Dutch setter Bongaerts stepped up as a true leader of her team. The upcoming Dutch star was literally everywhere on the court, guiding her teammates to a well-deserved 3:1 victory.
The Netherlands head coach Saskia van Hintum: “We started very well, but slipped a little bit in the second set. We were on the verge of losing the third as well, but we never stopped believing in us. The French girls got nervous, and we managed to win. Now, we have to recover for the challenging matches against Russia and Turkey. It will be a true test for us.“
France head coach Serge Marouteau: “I guess tonight my players thought more about not losing rather than winning. The result was always in their mind, and they didn’t pay enough attention to what was happening on the court, especially in the fourth set. You cannot play like that.“
To read more news from this competition click on Youth European Championship 2013 F.
