THE WORLD’S PANTERS OK ON THE ORIGIN: PROSECCO DOC IMOCO-DENTIL PRAIA 3-0 – STANOTTE BIS WITH THE VIETNAMITI (h. 2.00)

17/12/2024

Table and Chronicle Club World Cup – Group B – Day 1
PROSECCO DOC IMOCO CONEGLIANO- DENTIL PRAIA 3-0
(25-20,25-15,25-15)
Prosecco DOC Imoco: Wolosz 2, Haak 11, Chirichella 7, Fahr 11, Gabi 11, Zhu 11, De Gennaro, Seki 2, Bardaro ne, Lubian ne, Adiwge 2, Lanier 1, Lukasik, Eckl ne. All.Santarelli
Dentil Praia: Gattaz 3, Macris 1, Kuznetsova 14, Carrijo, Martins 3, Reed 9, Adenizia, Araujo Natanha, Sousa, Silva, Basso ne, Caffrey 10, Pavao, Pinto, Marcilia. All.Miranda
Referees: Alblooshi (Uae) and Luo (Chn)
Set Duration: 24′,21′,26′
Notes: Batting errors Co 2,De 5; Aces: 3-4 ; Walls: 11-1

We woke up to the good news of the winning debut at the World Cup in China and it is already time to think about the next in this incredible transcontinental tourbillon that sees the Panthers carrying high the banner of Prosecco DOC Imoco Conegliano in the East. At dawn in Italy, Coach Santarelli’s team beat the Brazilians of Dentil Praia, an experienced and tough team that bowed out under the blows of the Panthers, who were good at getting off on the right foot in an adventure that is still in its infancy, but right away tomorrow morning, at 2.00 a.m. Italian time (9 a.m. in China), tough riser for Prosecco DOC Imoco, which in the second round will face the Vietnamese of LP Bank Ninh Binh, who today renewed the final of the Asian “Champions” against the Japanese Red Rockets.

If today in Hangzhou the stage was for the starting team lined up at full strength, with the media and public attention all for Zhu, almost a deity in China, that may not necessarily be the case tonight against the exotic Vietnamese, where given the pace of the rainbow tournament there is expected to be room for coach Santarelli’s usual rotations already begun in the final third set today.

The cheering is all for the Conegliano team, the presence of Zhu and the parade of stars in the sextet, from captain Wolosz to Bella Haak, from superstar Gabi to super-centers Sarah Fahr and Cristina Chirichella, to Olympic libero Monica De Gennaro, inflames the crowd, which is cheering for the entrance of Prosecco DOC Imoco. The Brazilians are now regulars of the competition, and they start with an experienced sextet accustomed to the big stages: Macris-Reed, Kuznetsova-Caffrey,Gattaz-Adenizia, libero Natinha.

In the first set, Dentil Praia starts in a swaggering manner, Kuznetsova (7 points in the set) plays all-out and charges her team, Macris makes her attack travel well and the Brazilians hold a steady lead (2-4, 8-10), while Wolosz relies mainly on Isabelle Haak to keep the slipstream and limit the damage. The equalizer is the Swede’s own at 13, then Adenizia and her teammates’ errors also come in, Conegliano takes its first lead of the match at 16-15. From there Prosecco DOC Imoco’s pressure becomes asphyxiating for Praia, the 5-0 break propelled by a couple of Zhu Ting’s feats and a wall by Chirichella brings the Italian champions ahead 18-15. Praia despite a few too many errors stays close until the final sprint, but the Panthers with Haak (7 points in the set with 70 percent), Zhu (5 points, 62 percent) and Gabi (3) close the account 25-20 in an error-free set by the yellow-blue.

The second set is easier for Prosecco DOC Imoco, which sets the record straight from the start: 4-1. Chirichella walls well (8-4), then Gabi and captain Wolosz also raise the shutter and when Zhu places the 12-5 ace, it’s nightfall for the Brazilians. The audience’s applause and decibels spike whenthe star player is the home idol, Zhu Ting, who had not returned to play in her home nation for so many years and was greeted from the moment she arrived in Shanghai and then every minute of her stay in Hangzhou followed by swarms of fans, media and cameras, as in the special reception that reunited her on the day of her arrival with her coach and mentor Jenny Lang Ping, another Chinese volleyball legend with whom she won the Olympics in 2016. Zhu’s shots cheered the fans and launched the Panthers, now masters of the set, while the wall-defense muzzled the South American attackers. Prosecco DOC Imoco picks up its pace and entertains the fans by dominating the final set with Gabi’s acrobatic evolutions, De Gennaro’s defense, and wall flashes from Fahr (2) and Chirichella (1) for the comfortable 25-15 close that makes the Chinese fans explode with enthusiasm.

The third set also runs smoothly for Prosecco DOC Imoco, with Asia Wolosz now giving free rein to her central players and being reciprocated by the excellent percentages of Chirichella and Fahr. The first push comes from the wall, a fundamental in which Conegliano excels in this match (11 to 1 the final tally, for Conegliano 3 by Fahr), Gabi’s seals the 9-4, then Fahr’s for 11-5. Again with the “block,” it is Isabelle Haak who puts down 15-9, before the entrance of Adiwge and Seki, who is immediately the protagonist of a deadly turn of serve (also an ace for the Japanese player) that definitively knocks out Dentil Praia.

Coach Santarelli empties his bench and inserts Lukasik and Lanier in addition to the double change, a moment of settling that allows the Brazilians a partial recovery (from 20-10 to 21-14), but after the time out the Panthers fix a few smudges and become a perfect machine again: a very concrete Sarah Fahr (10 points) rewards a nice service of Adiwge, then Lanier scores and the closing is by a brilliant Nanami Seki who wins a contrast at the net fixing again the result on 25-15. 3-0 and the Panthers put the first seal by giving a fine show of strength in their world debut.

Quickly filing away the first win, the round continues as early as 2 a.m. tonight (9 a.m. in China) with Vietnam’s champion team, LP Bank Ninh Binh, then on Thursday at 8 a.m. the third challenge to Asia’s Japanese champions, the Red Rockets. Moving on to Saturday’s semifinals are the top two in the group.