Before the Russia-Brazil final, it was worth forgetting the eponymous meeting of the second group stage, the semi-final that was confidently won by the Italians, and the somewhat relaxed victory of the Brazilians over the Serbian national team. None of this mattered. In the decisive match, the strongest teams in the world met equally worthy of the title.
The start of the onslaught of the Brazilians was predictable and still came as a surprise: the serve and attack at the first pace performed by Fabiana led to a quick victory in the first set with a margin of 10 points. Latin Americans did not hesitate to try out their favorite tactics of knockdown and deciding on the opponent in a decisive match. Fortunately, our team did not share the fate of all previous rivals of the team of Jose Guimaraes.
In the second set, Elena Godina pulled herself up to regularly working points Ekaterina Gamova and Lyubov Sokolova. Looking ahead - the final was not Godina’s best game: she scored only 10 points. And she failed to use her most formidable weapon - the pitch: two aces against four to five mistakes, including two in the last set. However, the collective efforts of the three leading volleyball players were enough to win the second set “at the flag” - 25:23. And then to a more convincing third - 25:18.
The fourth set was the most dramatic. Exchanging the ball for the ball and not allowing each other to jerk more than three points, the rivals approached the denouement unexpectedly. Our blockers suddenly ceased to cope with Sheila’s attacks from the third zone, and binder Marina Akulova issued several uncomfortable programs. The result - a five-point advantage of the Brazilians and an anxious mood before the tie-break.
The fifth set, as usual, became nervous - but victorious. Two absurd mistakes at the reception cost Russia much more than two points. The swift attacks of Brazil that followed marked a near-fatal advantage of 13:11. However, the unanticipated antithesis of the Brazilian trump cards - the speed of combinations and attacks at different rates - was slow and consistent. Least of all in the ending Gamova was wrong - both in the attack and on the block. Either the girls themselves guessed in the end to play only on her, or Caprara suggested - but Katya justified the trust. The soft play of Maria Borodakova calmed the nervous game, providing a three-pointer jerk at the beginning of the set and the most important, four-pointer at the end. Her block, paired with Yulia Merkulova, brought the Russians World Cup gold.
Kaprara, whose appointment was spoken about and at the same time afraid to speak in Russia, gave the team the most important quality - balance. The loss of one of the leaders from a clip in a separate match no longer affects his course so much. At the same time, Caprara got at his disposal world-class players who are capable, like Gamow, of being the best in the main match of the year. The coach’s experience helped the team, and the skill level of the girls allowed him to solve the most important tasks. And everything is just beginning.
Ivan Kalashnikov