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Volleyball 30/05/2014

Germany claim first ever Montreux semifinal ticket

Montreux, Switzerland, May 30, 2014 - European silver medallists Germany qualified for the first time for the semifinals of the Montreux Volley Masters after beating Japan 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-16) on Friday. Margareta
Kozuch (18 points) and her teammates overwhelmed Arisa Inoue (10 points) and
the Japanese.

It was a game of all or nothing for Germany and Japan. Both had three points and the chance
to qualify for the semifinals. Germany’s coach Giovanni Guidetti wanted to
make history with his “Schmetterlinge” and claim for the first time in history
a semifinal ticket for a German national team at the Montreux Volley Masters.

The Germans
started well and were able to put pressure on the Japanese
defence with a good diversity in the offensive game. The World Championship bronze medallists had to work hard as German setter Mareen Apitz played well. The silver medallists of the 2013 CEV European Championship
constantly increased their lead and won the first set by 25-15.

Japan had to
react in the second set if they wanted to stay in the race for the trophy.
Masayoshi Manabe’s players fought for every ball and started to get kills by
their quick offensive game. The set became more and more a fight between the
two setters Germany’s Apitz and Japan’s Natsumi Fujita – with the better end
for the German as she made the decisive point to 27-25 by a beautiful tip.

The world No. 3 had their back to the wall now. Germany took advantage
of these insecurities and held the pace of the game high; a high 15-9 lead was
the consequence. The Japanese mobilized their last power, but the Germans were
too strong in their offensive game and couldn’t be blocked.

The German national team claim for the first time in the history a
semifinal ticket at the Montreux Volley Masters.

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