Americans on track for third title with rematch of 2019 final against Brazil
USA shut out Turkey 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20) in the second semifinal of the 2021 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League Thursday evening at Italy’s Adriatic resort of Rimini, setting up a rematch of the epic 2019 final against Brazil.
Earlier on Thursday Brazil had claimed the first ticket to the final with a 3-1 win over Japan.
The Americans are on track to defend their title and remain exclusive winners of the trophy after their success in both previous editions of the VNL, in 2018 and 2019.
A very quick USA lead of 4-0 at the very start of the game was promptly dealt with by Turkey, who were two-up by the first technical timeout.
It was never going to be simple for the defending champions. But the Americans reclaimed control of the game and led by a safe distance of two to three points until Jordan Thompson blocked Tugba Senoglu to bring the first set home.
However, Turkey opened up lead of as many as five points at 17-22, on a bright path to tie the overall score.
And then Jordyn Poulter rotated to serve and immediately delivered an ace on Simge Akoz to start a remarkable 7-0 run and get the Americans to set point. Turkey did pull one back to end the run, but Annie Drews, who had come on off the bench earlier to replace Thompson, was there to deliver the final blow, crosscourt against a single block.
Drews started on to start in the third, as did Kelsey Robinson who came on for Jordan Larson. On the other side, Meliha Ismailoglu was replaced by Tugba Senoglu.
But this time there were no comebacks needed. Though Turkey remained very much in the game, Ebrar Karakurt could no longer deliver and was replaced by Meryem Boz, USA broke away after the second technical timeout and closed the match with ease.
Karakurt scored the match high of 17 points, but her efficiency dropped to 39% (14/36) before she was subbed out.
On the other hand play was so widely distributed on the USA side that not a single American player scored in double digits – Drews collecting the most on nine from a set and a half of action. Of course, only two-sets-worth of points were needed for USA players to register – 24 coming from unforced errors of the Turkish side.
Turkey will face Japan for the bronze medal, prior to the grand final on Friday.
Eda Erdem (Turkey): “I think that today we made too many unforced errors. We couldn’t serve as usual and it put us in trouble. Today we fought well in some parts of the game, but I think we were also not calm enough, we were doing everything in a hurry – for example in the second set we were leading 14-8, but they were calmer and more focused. Tomorrow is a tough match against Japan – we lost to them in the preliminary round and they play really fast. Asian volleyball is more difficult than European, but I believe that we deserve to finish with the medal. We will give our 100% trying to win.”
Jordyn Poulter (USA): “I think we came out very strong in the first set. Then, they came back in the second and they pushed us a lot. At some point we were eight points behind. We had some girls who came in from the bench and really helped us make the momentum change. We kinda held on a couple of our first and second touches, put a little bit more service pressure on them and then we were able to claim the second set. I think that we took the momentum to the third set and we were successful in the end. Tomorrow, it’s Brazil so it’s gonna be a good match. They are a very good volleyball team, but so are we, so we are hoping to show up and do our best and they bring their strongest and it will be a good volleyball game.”
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