Texas bound Logan Eggleston propels Team USA against Slovenia. Now, they will have to go through Italy in order to make it to the semifinals of the tournament. StockPhoto via FIVB
Texas boundLogan Eggleston had 19 points as The United States outplayed Slovenia in the Round of 16 and won in straight sets by scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-22 in one hour and eight minutes of game time. Mica Allison scored aided Eggleston with 12 points. No Slovenian player recorded double digits in this match. Tali Lekse finished with merely 7 units as the Europeans’ best scorer.
Team USA will have its toughest test yet in the tournament, as they advance to the quarterfinals to face gold medal favorites Italy.
Here are the post match reactions from Team USA’s coach Jim Stone and player Mica Allison:
Jim Stone:“I think the biggest thing we did today was that we served better than we have done in the entire tournament. We put a lot of pressure to Slovenia with our service and our offensive game was very balanced. Everybody contributed and we played as a team. It will be a challenge for us to play against the best teams in the world, but we are doing things very well and I’m happy for that.”
Mica Allison:“I think we played very good, all together and our coach told us it was important to serve, and we did it very well today. Our system really helped a lot and now we have to keep going. I think we figured out this qualification, it was hard at the beginning but we make it and we had a lot of fun also.”
Below, you will find complete recaps for today’s games, as well as quarterfinal match ups:
The first round of 16 match in Rosario was a phenomenal struggle between Japan and Serbia, with the Asian champions collecting the win and the quarterfinals berth 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 26-28, 19-25, 17-15) sparked by Haruna Soga’s 19-point scoring total.
Supporting key scorer were Japan’s Yuki Nishikawa (15) and Mao Ito (12), while Serbia was topped by Sara Caric and reserve player Dejana Lekic, with 21 and 16 points respectively. Captain Jovana Mirosavljevic did very well on digging balls in the back row and also contributed to the scoring total of her side with 12 caps.
At a very close first set, Japan escaped 20-18 in the final track and converted it into 25-21 with their defense counterattack formula. The Asians extended their streak and comfortably netted the second set 25-18, but the next one was a true thriller – Japan dominated all the way until a 24-19 but Serbia erased seven match balls with an amazing defensive job of Mirosavljevic and Lekic in the front line to discount 28-26. Both of them continued hammering and Serbia also blocked to tie the game 25-19, to create a fifth set with emotions through the roof. Japan led 7-4, the Europeans recovered with Lekic and the score showed a 13-point tie when the break appeared. Serbia had a match ball after a Caric block, but Japan dodged that one and won it a while later 17-15.
Here are the post match reactions:
Haruna Soga, Japan player: “At the match against Turkey we failed and lost, so then we realised how we have to do things. The same happened today for a while, but in that very leveled fifth set we remained close to each other, continuously supporting us and communicating to make it through. We were always looking forward. We are the Asian champions and with that pride we will face the next matches.”
Daichi Saegusa, Japan coach: “We began the match very well, but the girls got nervous when they had to close the game. We lost power in our serves and committed many unforced errors. Besides that, Serbia is a great team so their spikes and serves did things difficult for us. The same happened on the fifth set – we started well, then it got even and we were lucky they failed on the final track. Now we will give everything and do our job on the next games, it’s what we can do and we want to do.”
Jovo Cakovic, Serbia coach: “Congratulations to Japan. They are very good in defense and for us it was the first match we fought at long points and played better. However, we were 14-13 on the final set and ended up losing 17-15,nwe knew who was going to spike on Japan but failed on defense on those decisive moments. We are not favourites here, so we must learn for this generation to improve.”
Mila Kocic, Serbia libero: “It was a really hard match today. All of us gave all we had, but I think Japan is really strong. They were really close to win the match in the third set, but then we showed the match finishes when the last ball goes down. It was a way to their tall players, so I’m happy because the team has grown and gone step by step on the competition. We took one set and is important for our confidence to face tomorrow’s game. We’re also very grateful to the Argentine people, they cheered for us and are always so kind.”
Turkey x Colombia
Turkey became the second team from Rosario to enter quarterfinals stage. Derya Cebecioglu carried the flag at the 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-19) victory over Colombia. Cebecioglu rose above all scorers with a total of 15 points and fellow wing-spikerYaprak Erkek added 10 to the Turkish harvest. Although Colombia didn’t have any players on double figures, Darlevis Mosquera and Emelys Martinez did well scoring 8 times each.
Turkey simply did everything better than Colombia throughout the game, with more points coming from spikes, blocks and serves to craft a 2-0 lead. Cebecioglu acted as the main weapon and Merve Atlier contributed to 25-14 and 25-13 numbers, but Colombia improved on the third set and shortened distances. Martinez and Mosquera led the Colombian resistance, but after a 18-all score Turkey escaped and completed the task 25-19.
Here are the post match reactions:
Derya Cebecioglu, Turkey player:“It was an important game for us and I feel we did a great job. We did what we expected to and that made the game to finish our way. They were not better than us during the game, but at some point we made some simple mistakes and allowed them to get closer to us.”
Sahin Catma, Turkey coach: “We knew in advance that Colombia will have a disadvantage when receiving, so we focused on that and the first two sets were about receiving well and attacking for us; we did that and created a difference. It could have been a big challenge for us if they received well, because they have good attackers and maybe we couldn’t stop them. We have very talented players, in the European Championship we didn’t finish at a great position but that doesn’t mean we can’t play well. We did and today was a great day for us. ”
Darlevis Mosquera, Colombia player:“It was a hard match and we came here to give everything; the team didn’t behave like Colombia, but we did what we could. In the end of the match we started to play better, but they are a stronger and more experienced team. Now we aim to finish in the 9th position, which was one of the objectives when we got here.”
Antonio Rizola, Colombia coach:“The squad is not used to these matches, to having to face a team like Turkey playing for eight places in the final standing. I tried everything, but the girls were very nervous. But it’s normal – this is a stage of their growing process. Turkey have been working for over 30 years on the buildup of female volleyball, investing and playing a lot. This Turkish team has been preparing for this competition for over four years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=354fxuP6zFc
Russia x Korea
Russia advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Korea 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 18-25, 25-18) with 20 points scored by Polina Shemanova. Along with Shemanova, Valeriya Schevchuck tallied double digits with 14 points, who was also one of best blocking weapons for the Russian team that prevailed over the Koreans 11-5. Miyun Jong scored 19 for Korea, while Hyemin Park and Juah Lee closed with 11 points each.
Services were equal between both teams converting 9 aces apiece. Three of them were by Russia’s Veronica Rasputnaia and three by Korea’s Jeong. However the Asian team gave up 32 error points. Russia struggled in the third set when the Koreans came back to the game but their response was not as effective as the match against Germany the night before, when everything was decided in tie-breaker.
Here are the post match reactions:
Veronika Rasputnaia, Player of Russia: “It was a really difficult match, but we did our best and got the win. We had some players coming off the bench and they did it very well too. It’s important that all of us can help the team when necessary. We’re happy for advancing to the next stage and we hope we can keep playing good and win in the quarter finals.”
Alexander KarikovHead Coach of Russia: “In some periods our players got relaxed, in the third set our players believed that they were going to win and that’s why they lost their concentration. They are still young and we needed to remember them that they had to win three sets. Luckily they did it in the fourth. Now we need to know who will be our rival on the next stage to start preparing the game.”
Kim Dahee, Player of Korea: “Russia is a really difficult rival, we got the third set and even we tried our best until the end, they were better. Now we would try hard to end as high as possible.”
Cho Wanki, Head Coach of Korea: “Russia is the European champion, they’re an amazing team in reception and serve. We could win the third set but is necessary to say that they were better today. We tried to adjust our play to their tall players, so I’m happy because the team has grown and gone step by step on the competition. We took one set and is important for our confidence to face tomorrow’s game. We’re also very grateful to the Argentine people, they cheered for us and are always so kind.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oscPit_6h7c
Italy x Peru
With amazing play from Alessia Populini and Elena Pietrini, defending champions Italy took another step in Argentina as they defeated Peru 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-13) to be among the best eight teams of the competition Pietrini pocketed 14 points and Populini 11, but they weren’t alone at the Italian offensive force as Terry Enweonwu, Marina Lubian and Sarah Luisa Fahr all scored 9 times. On the other hand, Peru had to work a lot to land the ball into the opposite court and the most active player was Thaisa McLeod, with 7 tallies.
Peru showed an energetic version on the first set and even placed in front of Italy at moments, but the European consistency was a lot to handle and Italy darted to a 25-20 with Populini as leader. That advantage boosted Italy to a super-solid 17-8 and in no time they secured the second set by 25-13. The South American side tried to find some energy once again, but Italy didn’t give any margin, moved to 18-11 and Pietrini sealed the match by 25-13
Here are the post match reactions:
Sarah Luisa Fahr, Italy player:“We are glad with how we played today, we didn’t make many mistakes and the final result is a consequence of that. We can still be more aggressive and more united so the team can make the difference. Our best attribute is the attack, so if we improve the reception we could be even better in the offensive phase.”
Marco Mencarelli, Italy coach:“We played a good match; the equity of the beginning of the first and third set was due to our mistakes so as soon as we managed to erase them, we could be more incisive and get away with the victory.”
Flavia Montes, Peru captain:“Italy is not only strong and spirited but also is one of the undefeated teams here, but anyway we entered the court aiming to win and we never stopped trying. Since yesterday we were preparing for this, we were confident we could do it. We still need to polish some things and if we do it we can do a lot better. We had some mistakes that brought us down and it affected our confidence.”
Marco Queiroga, Peru coach: “It was a complicated game against one of the most powerful teams in the world, with a very high level. We did well with our tactics, but we lacked experience to make use of the moments we had and all of the sudden we gave them the calm needed to play this game. That first set could have changed the outcome of the match. We blocked very well but then they broke us and won the sets. Anyway, I’m happy with the way the girls played, enjoying the match and gaining experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1srVOGeHKU
Dominican Republic x Poland
With an amazing performance by Madeline Guillen, the Dominican Republic won a tremendous match against Poland by 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 15-25, 20-25, 16-14) and achieved the last of the quarterfinals berths put on stake in Rosario. Guillen completed a terrific game with 30 points, widely topping the charts of the game. Captain Natalia Martinez helped the quest with 14 of her own. For Poland,Zuzanna Gorecka provided 19 points and spirited captain Oliwia Baluk scored 17, while reserve opposite Rozalia Hnatyszyn followed with 12.
Dominican Republic surprised the audience by bagging the first set 25-21, after a Guillen block and a long spike by Poland. However, then the Caribbean girls showed it was no surprise as Martinez led the way and two key blocks ended the set – the same Martinez and also Jimenez for a 25-22. It was now or never for Poland and the Europeans reacted, taking the third episode 25-15 after dealing with an ankle injury of starting setter Zaborowska and then the fourth 25-20 pushed by Baluk’s unstoppable spirit. At the decisive chapter, Poland built a 4-point margin, but Martinez unveiled a solo block for a 13-point tie, saved one European match ball and Dominican star Guillen unleashed two back-row bombs for a 16-14.
Here are the post match reactions:
Madeline Guillen, Dominican Republic player:“It was a very good game. We were leading 2-0 and then we dropped our guard, so we ended up in the fifth and luckily we could make it there. They adjusted their blocking when we went down, we also lost energy on defense and couldn’t resist them. It was also crucial when their setter (Paulina Zaborowska) got injured as she’s a very talented player, but if God wanted it that way… Our coach told us to stay calm and be patient, waiting for our chance.”
Hennesys Lalane, Dominican Republic player:“This is huge. I can’t explain it with words. Of course we are up to more, I’m convinced that we can go further. We never think that we are less than anybody, so we go out and play no matter who’s the rival.”
Alexandre Ceccato, Dominican Republic coach:“To be honest, I think Poland was the favourite team today – they had played better than us on the first round. We didn’t arrive well, but we had some very good two first sets. Then they started serving very well and we found ourselves in the fifth set. The game was totally on their side and I think God helped us a little there. We were lacking of a good game so far and it was this one, our chance to write our history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf_ACQ7nfYs
Argentina x Brazil
Argentina said good bye to Santa Fe fans with a huge victory in four sets against Brazil by scores of 22-25, 25-23, 25-17 and 25-18 with a remarkable performance by Sofia Meinardi, who scored 21 points in front of a fully crowded stadium. Angeles Ligorria also contributed to the stats by scoring 13 points. On the Brazilian side, Tainara Lemes tallied 13, Daniela Seibt 11 and Beatriz Pereira 10.
Argentinean services were lethal against their South American neighbors who could only aced four times against 15 by the local team. Five aces were executed by Victoria Mayer. Brazil gave up 34 points, while the hosts surrendered 22 after a tough beginning. Once again, more than 4000 persons arrived in the National Technological University court that hosted the last match played by the Argentinean team that qualified to the quarterfinals that will be played at Newell’s Old Boys Stadium in Rosario.
The first three points of the match were for Argentina that guide before a timeout requested by Brazil’s coach Thomas. For Brazil it was a total adverse atmosphere in the beginning with a 2-5 deficit, until they could adjust their services and put some pressure on the edge of the net that made them improve to 8-6 in the score. Brazil closed with the first set on their favor. Argentineans were also leading in the start of a second set that became too tight. Brazil made some mistakes in reception and attack that gave the local team a temporary lead 10-6. Argentina will face Dominican Republic in quarterfinals, while Brazil will remain in Santa Fe to play against Poland in the round for 9th to 16th places.
Here are the post match reations:
Sofia Meinardi, Player of Argentina: “It was an unbelievable night for us, we have been working a lot for this, we have made a big effort and tonight we gave everything we had to win. I’m extraordinarily happy, I always dreamt about this and I always trained myself to be here. With all the effort we have done, tonight we could get benefit of that.”
Estanislao Vachino, Head Coach of Argentina: “I feel so happy that I can’t even explain it. I’m flying, a few days before we talked toLuciano De Cecco and he told us that not everyday you beat Brazil, and I think that was so motivating for our girls. We knew that we could do it, that we were playing better, but they’re still Brazil. I think we gave them the first set, because we committed too many mistakes, but then we lowered our error level and we recovered in an incredible second set. From then on, we dominated so we’re so happy. Now everything can happen because our motivation is so high.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvixJsUuRU
17th – 20th places playoffs
Thailand x China
At an all Asian duel, Thailand prevailed against China 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-23) and celebrated their first win in Argentinean soil, playing for the 17th place of the tournament. Thailand’s Piyarat Buddawong was the most prolific scorer of the game with 14 points, followed by teammate Tichakorn Boonlert who totaled 10. None of the Chinese players joined the double digits group and the best was Liu Yu with 8 tallies.
The match began with ups and downs and the first to acquire focus was Thailand, but it wasn’t until past a 16-16 score. After a 25-22 built mostly on Chinese errors, the Thai team greatly improved in defense and counterattack to take another step 25-17, but China found some thrust on the third set and led for quite a while. However, once again they lost rhythm and Thailand displayed their discipline to move forward at the 20-point and close it 25-23.
Here are the post match reactions:
Jarun Niemtuptim, Thailand coach:“Today we won because of our serving technique; we could follow the plan we had for the match. Now the players are more confident; Cuba and Mexico, our next rivals, will be tougher because of their height, but as we won today my players will play better.”
Pannapa Chanphuk, Thailand captain:“In the Asian Championship we lost to them 3-2, but today we could win, so we are delighted. It’s fantastic for us to play so far away from home and having some supporters; we want to thank them very much for coming to see us fight and cheer.”
Xu Jiande, China coach:“We didn’t play well technically. They beat us both on tactics and technique.”
Chen Fanglin, China captain: “We had the choices but we couldn’t take them.”
Cuba x Mexico
Mexico clinched their first victory in the tournament after beating Cuba 3-1 (15-25, 25-16, 17-25, 16-25) in the classification round for places 17 to 20. Uxue Guereca recorded 21 points in the Mexican win, while Melanie Parra finished with 17 and Grecia Castro with 11. For Cuba, Elizabeth Vicet tallied 13 and Odaimis Leliebre finished with 10.
Mexico outplayed Cuba in services with 11 totals against 5 by Cuba. Natalie Nava, Grecia Castro, and Uxue Guereca aced three times apiece. Cubans were slightly superior in blocks 9-7 and gave up 30 points against 22 by Mexico in 1 hour and 31 minutes.
Here are the post match reactions:
Ricardo de Jesus Naranjo, Head Coach of Mexico: “At this level, when you play an Age Group Championship, winning is important. In a youth category, it is a key to motivation because you can gain more confidence. The girls showed a stronger attitude. We could resist and finally, claim a victory a day after a long and amazing match played in five sets (against the USA). We could win and that was something important for us.”
Grecia Castro, Player of Mexico: “We feel great today. I think that in the set they won against us, it was because we failed a lot in reception and their blocking game controlled us, but when we put some pressure on them, they could not do anything. We were not able to do that during that set, but the most important thing was that in the end we could solve this match in our favor and we can go for more.”
Elizabeth Vicet Campos, Captain of Cuba: “Today’s match was not difficult, however, we fell in excess of confidence and could not get the best of our advantage when we were leading on the score and get out of the hole when we were down. We just could not have enough confidence in ourselves.”
Russia
South Korea
Japan
Serbia
Argentina
Brazil
Dominican Republic
Poland
Italy
Peru
United States
Slovenia
Turkey
Colombia
Germany
Belarus
Leave a Reply