Ankara, Turkey, August 12, 2015 – Italy started their FIVB 2015 U23 Women’s World Championship campaign with a straight-set (25-23, 25-20, 25-19) win over Bulgaria. The East Europeans had their best moments in the first set but were not consistent enough to win a set on Wednesday afternoon in Ankara’s Arena Hall.
Italy’s captain Sofia D’Odorico led the South Europeans with 15 points. Best scorer in Bulgaria’s team was Silvana Chausheva with ten kills. Italy had the better offense today (43-29) and were stronger in blocking (10-5) as well.
There was not much to separate the two teams in the opening set. Italy had a two-point lead at the first and second technical timeout, but the East Europeans quickly bounced back to turn the tables at 21-20. However, it was not good enough. The squadra azzurra kept cool in the crucial moments, closing out the first set 25-23 in their favour.
Italy’s captain Sofia D’Odorico (seven points in the first set) continued her run in the second set. The 18-year young Italian led her team to a well-deserved 25-20 success. On the other side, the Bulgarian offense experienced much more difficulties against the strong Italian defense.
The story of the match did not change in the third and last set. Italy kept command and never looked back until 25-19.