2018 FIVB World Championship - Japan

    I'm happy Italy won, congrats to them! They play really enjoyable volleyball.

    I'm really worried Egonu is gonna be exhausted tomorrow , and Serbia will have an easier time and we all wanna watch hard fought final. I don't like her mistakes, but I like how she always got back and hit harder after she did one. She got too many balls, especially from Cambi, which could have gone to Sylla, she was also front court

    It's the first time Italy scored less blocks than the opponents. And in general there weren't many direct block for such a long game, 10 for Italy and 12 for China.


    Paola improved her personal record of points scored in a NT match (it was 39), which is also the Italian record.

    I think it's also her personal record not with the NT, anyway...

    I only could watch tie-break live but wow, what an amazing 20 minutes of volleyball :obey:


    Not sure if I like Italy's way of playing there though...sure, at the end of the day Egonu got the job done, but I had this feeling that with some variation Italy could have won earlier. I think Sylla got no real set in the whole 3 rotations at the net in the end, just one out of emergency that she could only pass over. No middle sets, nothing to Bosetti. Egonu was visibly dead on her feet which might backfire at Italy tomorrow.


    I don't remember ever having an all-European final at WCH by the way :flower:

    Much as I'm rooting for an Italian win tomorrow, I have a feeling that Serbia's going to win it. Today's 5 set win by Italy is too exhausting where as Serbia's matches ended mostly in 3-0 or 3-1 victories. But it's one of those cases I don't mind being wrong. Either way, I don't mind who wins. Hope Egonu still have energy left.

    The Chinese libero retrieving a ball that has already gone out just about sums up their performance in this match. Simply grotesque level of play at times.


    Italy ought to have closed it out much earlier than they did. Still, they are the story of this tournament and it's impossible not to like them.

    Quote from crovolley

    In fucking final.

    I don't agree with some of your posts, but this is one of the most hilarious clap backs I've read here. :lol:

    Congrats Italy! And Congrats to China too!


    It was such a high class volleyball match! If I was so nervous in the last two sets, I really cant imagine how were our italian and chinese friends in the forum! :lol:


    In the previa, we already knew this could have been a long match. But now with so much drama! If the italians lost 10 kgs in the tie-break against Japan, cant imagine how thin they are now!


    This is the link of full match (included post match):

    (chinese audio).

    I guess that in some hours I will get the one from Sport Tv (Brazilian tv).


    MVP: Monica De Gennaro! What a player! Really! She makes me forget about Castillo.

    riding egonu worked in the end. but it really could've gone either way. she wasn't particularly efficient against high chinese blocks as expected. sylla was actually more efficient this game, or the whole tournament for that matter. i think they trust egonu more when the reception is not good. but if they lost this game, relying on her too much would've been the reason too. lucky she came through in the end and i think they'll beat serbia in the final.

    Quote from bibetron

    Much as I'm rooting for an Italian win tomorrow, I have a feeling that Serbia's going to win it. Today's 5 set win by Italy is too exhausting where as Serbia's matches ended mostly in 3-0 or 3-1 victories. But it's one of those cases I don't mind being wrong. Either way, I don't mind who wins. Hope Egonu still have energy left.

    I agree with you about everything except the bold part, I wonder why :P


    Quote from Leonardo.D

    In the previa, we already knew this could have been a long match. But now with so much drama! If the italians lost 10 kgs in the tie-break against Japan, cant imagine how thin they are now!

    10 years vs Japan, another 10 today. I guess we're not the second youngest team of the WCh by now :lol:


    Quote from Leonardo.D

    This is the link of full match (included post match):

    :heart::flower:


    Quote from lche059

    riding egonu worked in the end. but it really could've gone either way. she wasn't particularly efficient against high chinese blocks as expected. sylla was actually more efficient this game, or the whole tournament for that matter. i think they trust egonu more when the reception is not good. but if they lost this game, relying on her too much would've been the reason too. lucky she came through in the end

    I would have liked all the post, but as an Italian fans I have to pretend the end of your post don't exist :P

    Thumps up for the rest!

    So happy right now. I really really really thought the girls would have collapsed in the tiebreak. And all those match points wasted...


    Now recover and let's hope they have some mental and physical energies left for tomorrow, it will be tough but Italy deserves to be the world champion after this marathon.


    Good luck to China too, they will have to reset against the Dutch.

    Ok we did it! Let's gonna see... Anyway Italian volleyball LOVES silver colour.....

    Per un pir, un pam un persec per na brogna e na rumleina, nuetr'a sam d'la Ghirlandeina nuetr'a sam da rispeter




    I am very upset right now. China lost in the semi;( with such a close match. 17:15:wall: My dream final is gone.


    Please Tijana and Serbia destory the Italian team in the final! They are just not likeable tbh.


    Hope Serbia and China will win tmr and hope Yan Ni can grab one individual award.

    Quote from Kk15

    I would be grateful if someone we'll post a link of the game with the post-match as well: Rai was transmitting on our second channel (not the sport one) and because the match finished so late they had to cut the transmission just when the teams were greeting each other under the net... But I would love to see all the tears of joy, and the photo and so on ^^


    Thanks!


    Did Rai2 really cut the tranmission? It was quite unrespectful for the girls and the team in general! How come? I usually watch italian matches on Rai, but today I prefer FIVB TV. A non sided one broadcast 8o

    If it were a calcio match, I am sure they wouldnt cut the tranmission, but interview every single player and even the physiotherapist.

    The better team tomorrow will be deserved winner, it's not Italy now before the match even started.I don't understand those comments about Italy being deserved champion right now.If Italy is the best, they need to beat Serbia tomorrow, it's that simple.

    The both team deserved to be in the final, Serbia nothing less then Italy.

    And don't forget, Serbia is playing with only 13 players (without Milenkovic), if we can speak about some impressions what is deserved and what isn't, that should be counted also.

    I'll take further a past consideration: in the last 4 major finals4 (London, WCh 2014, Rio, WCh 2018) we had 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% European teams [I already wrote that but without London], and in the final we had/have 0%, 0%, 50% and 100% European teams: so, after a while (Russia in Wch 2010), the world top team will be an European one.


    Among the last 3, it's also the only time China isn't in the final.


    Ps note that I'm considering only WCh and OG!


    I really hope Moki and Lucia will play until Tokyo, anyway!


    Edit: I read it's the first all-European final of the WCh!