Volleyball: European Championship, Italy beats Holland in the tiebreak and is in the semi-final with France

Italy-Holland 3-2 (19-25, 25-17, 25-16, 23-25, 15-12)

Italy wins the quarter-final against the best Netherlands in the European Championship, but is not overwhelmed by a stellar Nimir (31 points) and wins the 14th semi-final of its European history. Perhaps one of the most painful. On Thursday they will face Andrea Giani’s France. De Giorgi confirms the starting six, but from the first points it is clear that it will be a difficult evening. PalaFlorio is packed and Nimir on the other hand has a hot arm. Italy feels the tension of a match with no return, perhaps it’s the first time in this European Championship. Despite everything, the Azzurri recover a break deficit (3-6) and take the lead 14-12. Here Roberto Russo gets injured (left ankle, but alone) the team freezes, his teammates carry him off the pitch. Italy goes haywire and Holland stops, while Nimir is under pressure: 9 points and 70% in attack! We never touch Holland while Italy struggles a lot in attack (just 40% in the first set). The Orange team, who also have Jeffrey Klok on the bench (son of Maskrk who won the Scudetto for Roma in 2000), didn’t take long to close the set. But the PalaFlorio doesn’t freeze, in fact the second set begins with Italy not “healed”, but grinding out the game. Always with Sanguinetti on the pitch in place of Russo. Michieletto and above all Lavia lead the group and the Azzurri score points. They are more lucid in defense and Holland is unable to keep up the pace.

Voltage

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It’s not the sparkling Italy of the first matches, but this is the most bastard match there is and all the nightmares come to mind. Romanò became Italy’s real driving force in the final part of the third set. And he continues without respite even in the third. Italy now dominates and has put the great fear behind it. And the third set ends up in the Azzurri’s box. But in the fourth it’s still suffering, because Holland doesn’t want to give up and Roberto Piazza knows well how to make them play. He shoots with all his might when serving: I don’t know if Nimir is tired of shooting, in fact the Netherlands flies and takes the lead in the fourth set 18-13. Italy staggers, is in the corner, misses his lines, but the latest arrival, Leandro Mosca (who replaced) blocks Nimir. The fraction reopens, before the knockout blow. We go to the tiebreak due to a shot fired outside Italy. The monsters of the past still bite. But in the tiebreak Italy spread out and won the 15 points that allowed the dream to continue.