Turkey were victories in their five-set clash against the Netherlands in the semifinal of the Montreux Volley Masters
Montreux, Switzerland, May 30, 2015 – Turkey overcame the Netherlands in a long and exciting semifinal match of the Montreux Volley Masters, that lasted in favour of Turkey 3-2 (29-27, 23-25, 25-13, 17-25, 15-13) at the Pierrier Sports Hall on Saturday.Opposite Gozde Yilmas scored 24 points for Turkey, which will reach the final of the tournament for the first time.The Dutch team had a steady lead at the start of the first set but Turkey bounced back to tie the score at 13-all. Both squads fought closely until Turkey got the break at set point 24-21. Netherlands’ Lonneke Sloetjes saved three consecutive set points on her two kills and one block to tie the score at 24-all. Then team-mate Celeste Plak took the opportunity to bring them closer to the end of the set. Plak’s spike, however, went out and the tight game continued until Netherlands committed two consecutive errors on Plak’s serve and a backrow hitting error from Sloetjes handed Turkey the victory 29-27.In the second set, Turkey outscored their opponents in most parts of the set. The Dutch team stayed close by two to three points but could not grab the lead against their opponents. With an ace, the Netherlands tied the score at 21-all. At 23-all, the set ended with two mistakes from the Turkish side for a Dutch victory in the second set 25-23.Turkey were able to have a good start in the third set as Neriman Ozsoy led her team in offence and quickly dominated the entire set, while Netherlands committed errors. Turkey controlled and closed the set at 25-13.Netherlands coach Giovanni Guidetti made two major changes in his starting lineup. Guidetti fielded in captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues and Nicol Koolhaas, that changed the tempo of the match. The Dutch strategy worked efficiently for a stirring win 25-17.The Netherlands slightly led at side change in the fifth set 8-7. Turkey then got three points in a row from Ozsoy until the Netherlands tied the score again at 12-all from a long rally ended by an impressive backrow attack from Anne Buijs. Guidetti sent in Plak to use her jump serve but unfortunately backfired as the ball ended at the net. Turkey committed a net violation before the Netherlands responded with another service error. Turkey capitalised on a kill on an overpass at match point to conclude the thrilling match at 15-13.