By The International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB) -

With a truly amazing performance against the Netherlands, Italy defended the gold medal it won two years ago in Luxembourg with a dominant 0-3 (16-25, 19-25, 20-25) victory at the CEV Orlen European Championships.

With the win, Italy also qualified for the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in Japan in November.

The Italians controlled the match from beginning to confirm they are the real queens of European Volleyball.

A sold-out crowd at the Atlas Arena was on hand to watch Italy attempt to win back-to-back titles and the Netherlands contend for gold for the first time in 14 years.

Dutch captain Manon Flier scored the first rally of the match, but immediately the “Azzurre” replied with all their personality for what promised to be a great game.

Italy took an 8-7 lead into the first technical break as the teams battled point for point with great intensity, even though some silly mistakes from the service area was a blemish at the midway point of the set.

After an incredible save, Francesca Piccinini killed a diagonal spike and a massive triple block set the tone at the second technical timeout, 16-13. Setter and captain Eleonora Lo Bianco started her personal show by varying the offensive solutions of her team as the Italians strengthened their confidence and increased the lead to 20-14. The Dutch were getting shakier and shakier, especially in reception, and the final whistle signaled a clear difference in play, 25-16.

The Dutch came out stronger in the second set and took a 6-3 lead. After struggling a bit, Italy scored three in a row and finally leveled at 15 before taking the lead into the second break with a terrific block on Manon Flier.

Italy, with veterans Simona Gioli and former Cuban Taismary Aguero, stormed ahead to 21-17 and a few minutes later the set count moved to 2-0 for the defending champions.

The Italians continued to roll in the third set and the Dutch sometimes looked a bit lost as they could not find any tool to interrupt the Italian dominance. Aguero put an end to this Championship with an ace and the “blue” party was finally triggered.

“I am so excited, we are definitely a great team — we have some dazzling individual skills and it is really a pleasure to be part of this group,” said Jenny Barazza. “We always know what we have to do and we always control the situation with true confidence. This fantastic atmosphere comes especially from our coach and we owe him a lot for this gold medal.”

Results

The Netherlands vs. Italy 0-3 (16-25, 19-25, 20-25)

Best Players Awards

MVP: Manon Flier (NED)

Best blocker: Christiane Fürst (GER)

Best libero: Paola Cardullo (ITA)

Best receiver: Kerstin Tzscherlich (GER)

Best scorer: Margareta Anna Kozuch (GER)

Best server: Agnieszka Bednarek-Kasza (POL)

Best setter: Eleonora Lo Bianco (ITA)

Best spiker: Simona Gioli (ITA)

With Thanks To The International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB)