Brazil's libero Fabiana digs as Sheilla Castro watches
Dominican Republic
vs
Germany
0
-
3
Germany defeated the Dominican Republic 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 in the opening Pool B match of the FIVB Volleyball World Championships for Women on Tuesday in Sapporo.
Germany played some solid defence and used variety in attack to unsettle the Dominicans and win the match in under 80 minutes. Christiane Furst, captain Cathrin Grun and Birgit Thumm turned in strong performances for the Germans while the Dominicans were let down by some poor serving and lack of concentration in defence.
Both sides matched each other during the opening exchanges as Germany went into the first technical time-out of the opening set with an 8-7 lead. The Dominicans fought back to take a brief 9-8 lead before the Germans turned it up with three straight points for a 12-9 advantage.
It was the first time any team had more than a two-point lead in the match and the Germans continued their run, swiftly moving into an 18-11 lead.
Only when Germany reached 20-12 did their opponents offer any sort of fightback as the Central Americans reduced the deficit to 20-16. However, Germany won the next four points and eventually took the set when Dominicans' Annerys Vargas saw her serve go long on set-point.
The second set started in a similar pattern to the first with Germany heading into the first time-out with an 8-7 lead, with Furst producing some key spikes.
Again, Germany tried to pull away but the Dominicans fought hard to keep their opponents within touching distance. However, despite being fired up by their captain Cosiri Rodriguez, some erratic Dominican serves and good blocks from Germany helped the European side to an 18-12 lead after a five-point rally.
By this time, Germany were well on top as the Dominicans lost concentration, at one point letting a harmless tip-over fall between two indecisive players to make the score 20-14. Furst's confident smash from mid-court sealed the set for Germany.
The third set saw Germany taking control early on, rarely allowing their opponents to create attacking opportunities. Though the Dominicans defended bravely, Grun, Furst and Atika Bouagaa were in fine attacking form.
After leading 8-3 from the first technical time-out, Germany extended their lead to 10-6. However, it was Germany's turn to suffer at the service line as a series of poor deliveries allowed their opponents to fight back to 12-10.
Within minutes it was 14-13 to the Dominicans, who lifted their game a notch and made the most of some wayward German smashes. Germany hit back straight away
and went into the second time-out with a 16-14 lead. Dominican Republic refused to give up but the Germans proved too strong in the end, closing the match when Corina Ssuschke hit the winning spike beyond the despairing hands of Dominican defenders.
