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Abu Dhabi: Holland came from behind to beat Italy 3-2(27-29, 26-24, 20-25, 26-24, 16-14) to head Group A in the Abu Dhabi International Women Volleyball Championship yesterday at Al Jazira indoor stadium.
Italy, one of the favourites to win the title, found the going tough in a close first game which saw the teams locked at 27-27 before the Italians took charge following a blunder in serving and and open defence on the net.
The Dutch soon returned in the second game and led from the start but their rivals came back strong.
Holland, however, won 26-24 thanks to the outstanding performance of captain Manon Flier with her spectacular shots and accurate tennis serving.
Italy took the lead in the third game and did not lose it until the end of the game, succeeding many times to break the vulnerable Dutch defence.
The Italians should have ended the match 3-1 in their favour in the fourth game, which they led 19-11, but they started committing silly mistakes all over their field, allowing the Dutch to take advantage win the game 26-24.
Blunders made
In the final game, the Italians made two blunders which proved costly, losing the game 16-14.
"It was a tremendous match and we are happy to beat Italy." Flier said afterwards.
"We made some mistakes early in the fourth game but we came back in style."
In the other games a selection from participating teams beat the UAE 27-25 in a one-game-match in the opening, while Russia beat France 3-0 (25-19, 25-19. 25-13) and Algerian defeated Egypt 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-8).
Egypt defeated Australia 3-0(25-21, 25-22, 25-22).
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