Qualification for Euro-2024 (U-22). Women
Paredes (Pavilhão Multiusos de Paredes). Portugal
July 23. 3rd round
Ukraine — Portugal 2-3 (24:26, 18:25, 25:21, 26:24, 18:20)
The Blue and Yellows lost to the hosts of their quartet, Portugal, in an incredibly tense and at the same time spectacular match of the third round of qualifying for the European Championship 2024. Despite the loss, they still qualified for the final part of the continental championship, which will be held in Italy, as one of the three best teams among the second places.
At the beginning of the match, none of the teams wanted to give the initiative to each other. The representatives of both sides fought for every point, as the numbers on the scoreboard spoke about - 6:6, 8:8, 11:11. In the middle of the set, the confident block of the Portuguese team and their shot at the second pace allowed the hosts to break away by two points. Andrii Romanovych responded with a timeout. However, after that, the rivals continued to lead - 13:17. After all, our girls repeatedly ended the attacks with spikes, to which the opponents quickly adapted.
A wonderful move by Andrii Vasyliovych: Anastasiia Kucher came from the bench to serve. Her serves knocked the representatives of Portugal out of the reception, due to which the Ukrainians gained an advantage over the net and soon equalized parity. But the rivals triumphed on the "more or less" anyway - 24:26.
In the next set, the fierce struggle continued - 6:6. 8:8. The national team alternated roles on the floor. At a certain moment, the Portuguese took the initiative and organized a sprint - 10:15. In those minutes, the blue-yellow team once again lacked power in attack. Unfortunately, all attempts by the coaching staff to turn the game around with substitutions failed — 18:25.
Our volleyball players started the third set better - 7:2, 10:3. It was noticeable that they made certain conclusions and began to act more aggressively in terms of sports. By the way, sometimes this excessive desire to make a comeback even interfered a little - 14:12. However, 30-second time-outs put their energy back in the right direction — 25:21.
The successful previous set gave the Ukrainians even more impetus to continue — 5:3. Opponents as hosts did not want to let Andrii Romanovych's wards lead. The so-called "swings" started again, and the tension continued to grow - 23:23. In the end, fortune smiled on the blue and yellows, who took the game to a tie-break - 26:24. Already there, despite all the efforts of our athletes, the Portuguese were stronger - 18:20.
Starting line-up: Kseniia Ratii, Polina Dziuba, Anastasiia Horbachenko, Mariia Kaplanska, Dariia Kaplanska, Kristina Starostenko, Kateryna Vasylieva (k), (l).
