European Golden League-2023. Women. Final
Lund (Sparbanken Skåne Arena), Sweden
July 9. 2nd match
Sweden — Ukraine 0-3 (17:25, 22:25, 30:32)
The women's national team of Ukraine proved in the return match against Sweden that the previous triumph was not an accident. Two victories in the finals of the European Golden League-2023 make our team the winners of the competition!
Both teams demonstrated a high pace of the game, exchanging rapid attacks — 3:3. The hosts predictably bet on their top scorers of the last match — Aleksandra Lazic and Isabelle Haak. On the tight serve of the last. Swedes made a breakthrough and forced Ivan Petkov to take a timeout - 6:3.
One can get the impression that the Ukrainians were somehow overexcited, because of which they made uncharacteristic mistakes. However, fortunately, they gradually came to their senses. The much-needed ace of Daria Sharhorodska added confidence to our athletes - 9:7. After that, they completely turned the course of the game and took the lead - 11:13.
In those minutes, the Scandinavian players couldn't cope with the reception at all, so Petkov's wards got an advantage over the net - 12:16. The set was ending, and the gap between the opponents only grew. Anastasiia Kraiduba's unstoppable shots and Svitlana Dorsman's confident serve brought the blue-yellows closer to victory. Very soon, the block-out of our opposite put an end to the first set - 17:25.
The second set also presented us with many interesting and long rallies. The hostesses tried to draw the energy of the full stands, which, of course, was effective - 9:8. Nevertheless, the players of the national team of Ukraine, thanks to the organized actions on the block, decently roll with the punches, and at the equator of this set they were even in the status of the leaders - 12:13.
Swedish volleyball players did not give up and continued to fight. In the end, the teams regularly changed roles. Therefore, it was not easy to predict the winners - 18:18. Petkov saw our opponents touching the net and stopped the rally. After the video challenge, the referees awarded us a point — 18:19. For such a game, every point is worth its weight in gold. In the end, the athletes themselves did not let their mentor down: they triumphed in the set and won the European Golden League-2023 early on.
In the third set, Yevhenia Hober and Viktoriia Danchak appeared on the court. Despite the overall victory in the tournament, our volleyball players did not stop - 10:14. After all, the world rating also needs to be fed with points. It is clear that at that moment the representatives of Sweden were depressed morally. But Lauri Hakala managed to find the right words for them during a 30-second break, after which they played more aggressively - 18:19. The end was bright and tense, but the Ukrainians still had the final word, even when it's "more or less" — 26:28.
So, we congratulate the entire domestic volleyball community on this incredible success of the women's national team of Ukraine!
Starting line-up of the national team of Ukraine: Sharhorodska, Dorsman (c), Maievska, Milenko, Dymar, Kraiduba, Niemtseva (l). Substitutes: Danchak, Khober, Oliinyk.
