Russia claimed the last semi-final spot at Montreux Volley Masters 2015
Montreux, Switzerland, May 29, 2015 – Netherlands and Japan still searching for a conqueror at the 30th Montreux Volley Masters as the “Oranje” sweep the Dominican Republic 3:0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-22) and the team from the Land of the Rising sun overpower Italy 3:0 (25-12, 28-26, 25-16). Russia, on the other hand, complete the Final Four after downing Chinese youngsters 3:1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23).
Even though three out of four semi-finalists had already been determined, there were still plenty of questions to be answered on the last Pool Play Day at the Montreux Volley Masters 2015 in front of almost 2.000 hyped spectators in the venue.
The first question to be answered was if the “Oranje” from the Netherlands would start with a hat trick under Giovanni Guidetti’s lead; they had already won their first two pool games at the Montreux Volley Masters and just had been one win away of the triple. The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, were poised to stop their negative series at the Montreux Masters after two losses.
The Dutch, however, started better into the game: Manon Flier put a lot of pressure on the Latin Americans with her sharp serves and spikes. The Dominicans did their very best, but couldn’t hold against as they struggled too much in their own build up plays. As a consequence, the “Oranje” booked kill after kill to scoop a 3:0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-22) victory and to make it three in a row under Guidetti.
In the second game of the day, Japan were poised to mount the throne in Pool B keeping a clean sheet. The team from East Asia impressed with a spotless performance in the previous two pool games at the Montreux Volley Masters. Their opponents from Italy were willing to not finish the Pool Plays on the last place after two clear defeats.
But the Japanese were just too strong for the Italian youngsters: the team from the Land of the Rising Sun rolled over Marco Bonitta’s squad to sweep them 25-12 in the first set. The Italians recovered from this huge setback, couldn’t stop the Japanese attacking waves though; this demonstration of power resulted in a 3:0 (25-12, 28-26, 25-16) victory and a 3-0 winning streak.
In the third and last game of Day 4, Russia and China were eager to battle for the last ticket to the semis. Both teams started with a 1-1 record into this decisive “Belle” for the Final Four berth. The Chinese youngsters overwhelmed the Russians with 25-18 in the opening set. The “Sbornaya”, however, kept their nerves and answered with three consecutive set wins in order to capture the game 3:1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23) and the last spot in the Montreux Volley Masters semis.
The spectators in the venue and the fans glued to their TV screens at home can look forward to more breath-taking games tomorrow: Germany play the Dominican Republic at 14.00 (CET) and China face Italy at 21.00, while the Netherlands battle Turkey in the semis at 16.30 and Japan duel Russia at 19.00 for the second semi-final clash.