Ekaterina Antropova played great. © ANSA / CLAUDIO GIOVANNINI

Outstanding performance: Italy's European Championship dream lives on

The Italian national volleyball team is one step closer to defending its title at the European Championships. In a thrilling quarter-final, Miriam Sylla & Co. defeated France.

August 29, 2023

From: leo

In the Pallawanny in Florence, which was packed to capacity, the Azzurre only had to work hard in the second set. In the end it was 3-0 again (25:14, 29:27, 25:13), which means that Italy have not lost a single set in the entire tournament - impressive.

Right from the start, Davide Mazzanti's team dominated with their serve. France had big problems with the reception and quickly found themselves behind 1:9. Led by Elena Pietrini and Ekaterina Antropova, Italy continuously expanded this lead and clearly won the first round. Afterwards, however, the French found their way into the game much better and demanded everything from the favorites. He even had to fend off a set point when the score was 24:25. In the most tricky phase of the match, Antropova, who was only 20, took control of the match - and ensured that Italy took a 2-0 lead.

Big cheers from the Azzurre. © ANSA / CLAUDIO GIOVANNINI

With the advantage behind them, Italy was at its best. Setter Alessia Orro distributed the balls as desired, the attackers around Pietrini and Antropova didn't give the opposing defense the slightest chance and the block worked perfectly. The fact that superstar Paola Egonu was hardly used had no effect on the game of the unleashed Azzurre. In the semi-finals, Italy's women will face either Turkey or Poland in Brussels on Friday.