By Rohith Nair
PARIS (Reuters) – Italy beat European champions Turkey in straight sets in the women’s Olympic volleyball semi-finals to move into the gold medal match where they will face the United States who edged Brazil in a five-set thriller earlier on Thursday.
Italy had never even reached the semi-finals at the Olympics but are now guaranteed a first medal after their 25-22 25-19 25-22 victory while Turkey will face Brazil for the bronze.
Versatile opposite Paola Egonu was the star of the show for Italy after she scored 24 points, including a crucial ace in the third set, while Melissa Vargas’s 17 points for Turkey went in vain after the Italians turned the tide in each set.
“We needed to succeed, we might not have got back in time,” Italy’s coach Julio Velasco said. “We made some mistakes and took it a little bit too easy. But to win 3-0 and reach the final, we have to be satisfied.
“We’ll prepare for the final like it’s any other game. It’s a gold medal match and we want to put on a show … We have a great responsibility on us.”
Italy had beaten Turkey 3-0 four days earlier in their final pool match but they had a shaky start to the first set and were behind for large parts before they found their rhythm.
As Italy edged ahead and brought up set point, Turkey made an error with an overpass and Anna Danesi needed no invitation to attack at the net and give the Italians a 1-0 lead.
The second set was a repeat of the first with Turkey edging ahead several times but it was Italy who picked themselves up midway through to again come out on top in the pressure points.
As Turkey lost control, Italy wrapped up the set when Ekaterina Antropova – who made a big impact off the bench – served an ace as Turkish heads dropped amid Italian celebrations.
Derya Cebecioglu stepped up for Turkey in the third set as Italy played catch-up yet again, with most of the attack flowing through the outside hitter. But once again Italy clawed their way back and turned the third set on its head.
After catching up to Turkey, Egonu scored with a deft attack and then served an ace to give them the lead before Sarah Fahr made three crucial blocks as Italy sealed the win.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Paris; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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