Orthmann is having a good tournament so far. She seems more confident than before. Her pipe attack is just pleasure to watch.
In the OH position she still has problems connecting the fundamentals of reception and attack, but her improvements are real... And this is good news also for Novara...
i am talking about Folie
my fault... Sorry..
DR has almost as many serve outs (8 so far) as Germany has serve into the net, but dribbled over
DR 17 direct errors and 7 blocks conceded... Tough...
Heynen has decided to reverse the positions of Alsmeier and Orthmann...
He had already done so and, also in this case, Orthmann holds up well as pure OH but Alsmeier from O position is not very performing...
Stigrot, on the other hand, is shining today: the girl he's doing a great VNL...
Pasini mentioned in the comments that Pietrini probably won't participate in ECH as well due to other reasons.
I am not worried about her absence tbh.
Here in Florence, the rumor has been circulating for months that Pietrini has voluntarily called herself off the national team at least for this summer... Knowing the girl, it's no news that surprised anyone that much...
Yes its her decision.
She retired from NT so she can play longer(few more years) in club.
I'm not so sure it's her decision... I think that, partially or wholly, Mazzanti has a big part in it... And I don't think Moki wants to prolong her career much: she had already announced her will to stop after Paris...
Pasini, on his blog, writes that Moki De Gennaro and Cristina Chirichella will not be part of the team for the European Championships...
I hope its a good place for her at this moment. I hope she will be happy there and show her old good shape. Still waiting...
Casalmaggiore has had some money problems but now, for the past two or three years, everything has been solved...
The girls say it's an excellent environment: it's no longer a Top Team, but it's an excellent club...
Roster for Italy Week 3:
Villani in, L. Nwakalor out.
Beatrice Parish is really funny...
they look terrible. Macris is so bad and yet everytime I say that on here I get attacked when it’s so obvious that she sucks
Yes... Fener with Drca has done a real step up...
and Parocchiale was not helping much, pretty sure Moki and Fersino would have covered more reception space.
On an Italian blog (Pasini's), an idiot wrote that Parrocchiale plays in the starting six because she is engaged to Francesco Recine (OH of Piacenza and Italian NT) whose father Francesco (ex GM of Lube and Perugia) is now the manager of the women's national team...
Disgusting insinuations, absolutely unfounded and without any confirmation...
If human stupidity can have a limit, here it is definitely exceeded...
Fersino is not mysteriously relegated to the bench, she is gradually recovering from an injury...
Despite having an average season, Nwakalor has stepped up this VNL and helped the team a lot.
Like I wouldn't be surprised if Mazzanti decided to include Antropova and Nwakalor alongside Egonu and take 3 MBs instead.
I don't think she will bring three opposites, even if the long list for the European Championship would perhaps make it a possible hypothesis... Antropova is a decent passer, but she hasn't received for over a year and it is unthinkable that she can play at a high level like OH without proper training... If Antropova's passport arrives (and it's not sure if it arrives), it will show, but it will bring 4 MB for sure...
Not much to say: great victory...
Where quality fails, character arrives and in this strange national team, that's good news...
Luckily for us, even Koslowski thought of us, leaving for three sets in bench van Aelen, Lohuis and Marring...
Even today Sylla is a true captain with a dominant Danesi...
And tomorrow we'll tear China apart...
Take away Egonu and give Dambrink to your Italian setters who “won titles with NT” to see what they can achieve lol
And what title did they win with clubs? Orro with the CEV Cup or Malinov with the most prestigious Challenge Cup?
Bla, bla, bla, bla...
"Take away Egonu", just as "take away Boskovic" or "take away who the hell you want" are really poor peaple speaches...
and, wathever, if my grandmother had wheels, it was a bicycle...
The fact is that Bongaerts sits on the bench, which is the place she deserves when she comes to top-level volleyball... End of discussion: but if you want, you can continue with your game of pigeon chess...
However, luckily for the Dutch, Koslowski understands something and put van Aelen in to try and win...
How about “she is a Malinov” or “she is an Orro” lol
Wow, this is beautiful...
Compare Bongaerts with two setters who play or have played in Top Teams, won titles and medals with clubs and national teams!!!
But here we are talking about volleyball, not cricket: maybe you are in the wrong forum...
Bongaerts is a synonym for bad setter...
"she is a Bongaerts"...
It could enter the common language of commentary...
For me, anyone who is born in a country, grows up, lives there, goes to school there and carries on his life according to its rules, regardless of his race or origin, must have citizenship and have the honor and the duty to represent it...
Frankly, I don't give a damn discussing the reasons that have led any person or athlete to change nationality...
Some have done it for money, some for love, some for political convictions: simple life and the all sports are full of them...
The thing is rightly regulated to avoid that there are those who build a business on it and as long as it stays within the rules it's ok for me ...
But I realize that for some racist or frustrated nationalist, this can be "annoying" and always take the opportunity to try to get the discussion into his rails and try to plead his case ...
I must say that you are all here always very good at not falling into the trap and staying on track: applause for you...
Happy volleyball everyone!!!
Squarcini had hard times in the first round too, against other tall and strong teams.
She is too short to play against other top teams for international level (on the standard of A team ofc). Italy is not Japan.
She's good (and beautiful)...
She is very technically gifted, but if the game is put on a physical plane, she pays a very high price…
