Suwon, South Korea, May 23, 2018 - An energetic all-round performance from Miryam Fatime Sylla inspired Italy to their first triumph of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-20) victory over Germany on Wednesday.
Inserted into the starting line-up after a lively showing off the bench against Russia on Tuesday, Sylla showcased powerful offence juxtaposed by resilient defence to help end Italy's four-match drought at the VNL.
Sylla provided a slew of highlight reels through unwavering passion and hustle to thrill the sparse crowd at the Suwon Indoor Gymnasium. She finished with 15 points, including 11 spikes and 3 kill blocks, but her influence could not be totally reflected on the scorecard due to the wing spiker's fanatical hustle.
She was the clear standout but Italy had numerous tireless contributors, including Serena Ortolani (13 points) and Marina Lubian (12 points).
Germany competed hard but were outplayed by their buoyant opponents to lose their second match in the second phase of the VNL. They were led by star Louisa Lippmann (15 points) but dynamic captain Maren Fromm was well held with just 8 points.
It was an important victory for Italy, who had started the VNL disastrously with four straight losses to sit second last on the overall standings behind Argentina heading into this fixture. Conversely, after a momentous upset of powerhouse Brazil in the opening match of the VNL, Germany have now lost four straight and their campaign is spiralling out of control.
Italy's dominance of their European foes continued with their 11th victory from the past 12 matches at the world level, including an unbeaten run stretching six years.
In a clash of two desperate teams, a hungry Italy started strong with Rossella Olivotto and Sylla proving tough to pass at the net as they built an early four-point buffer. However, an aggressive Germany were not rattled and continued to throw haymakers, including most memorably winning a 33-second rally to get within a point midway through the opening set.
There wasn't much separating the teams with players exuding vigour marked by Lippmann diving in desperation to engineer a German point to level the scores. Lippmann was seemingly everywhere and she showed off her aerial prowess to hammer home a spike to give her team the early edge.
However, Italy hit back but were erratic at times none more so than the mercurial Sylla, who followed a thunderous spike with a service error. Sylla, who was clearly enjoying her starting role, had undoubtedly helped energise her team through her power at the net as Italy won four points in succession to claim the first set in 29 minutes.
Italy's momentum carried over into the second set to build an early four-point lead marked by a booming spike from high-flying Ortolani. Sylla continued to inspire her team through hustle and continual brilliant saves made amends for the occasional error as Italy eyed an invaluable two-set lead.
In trademark fashion, Germany kept fighting hard but Italy had all the answers as Ortolani produced a kill block to once again stretch her team's lead to four points. Sylla's thundering spike, her sixth point of the stanza, fuelled Italy to a two-set lead as they sensed an end to their VNL drought.
Full of belief, Italy continued their dominance and overcame the gritty Germans, who never stopped trying in the third set but lacked the precision of their opponents - particularly on serve. In a mirror image of the previous two sets, Italy held the edge and they celebrated with gusto when Lippmann served long on match point.
The teams will round out the second phase on Thursday with Germany taking on Russia and Italy playing hosts Korea.