Qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games. Women

Ningbo, China. Group A

September 20. The fourth round

Netherlands — Ukraine 3-0 (25:23, 25:21, 25:16)

A priori, there cannot be weak teams in the qualification for the Olympic Games 2024. Therefore, for the women's national team of Ukraine, each new match is another test of strength. In the fourth round, our girls met with volleyball players from the Netherlands, who are the bronze medalists of the European Championship 2023.

Ivan Petkov decided to use rotation in this confrontation: for the first time in this tournament, Yevheniia Hober and Viktoriia Danchak appeared in the main line-up. The teams got off to a fast start, due to which they quickly exchanged points - 5:5. The Dutch in those minutes tried to act more often at the first pace, but closer to the middle they began to vary.

It was also noticeable that Felix Kozlovsi's wards regularly made mistakes in serving. But this did not prevent them from making a spurt with an even score (10:10) - 16:11. Predicted time-outs and the appearance on the court of Yuliia Dymar stabilized the situation a little. At the end of the set, the teams were separated by only one point. Unfortunately, in the end, the Dutch women had the last words - 25:23.

It is not easy for anyone to keep up the pace of the continent's prize-winners throughout the match. Therefore, it was not necessary to be surprised by their already more tangible advantage at the beginning of the next set - 8:2. At the same time, errors on the service did not go anywhere. One of these provoked the blue-yellow team to a powerful surge - 11:11. What followed was a back-and-forth game, while the leader in the match was constantly changing. In the final rallies, the Netherlands added power to the attack and played concentratedly in the defense - 25:21.

We had high hopes for the third set. The fact that the Ukrainians already had nothing to lose only spread their wings. They began to take more risks, which bore fruit — 2:5, 8:10. However, a protracted series of mistakes and the assertiveness of the opponent radically changed the course of the match - 25:16.

Starting line-up of Ukraine: Daria Sharhorodska (1), Svitlana Dorsman (c) (7), Anastasiia Maiievska (2), Oleksandra Milenko (12), Yevheniia Khober (8), Viktoriia Danchak (11), Krystyna Niemtseva (l) . Substitutes: Yuliia Dymar (3), Anastasiia Kraiduba.