Cameroon's No. 4 Ruth Diboue attempts to block a Dutch spike.
Netherlands
vs
Cameroon
3
-
0
Kobe, Japan, October 31, 2006 -- The Netherlands cruised past Cameroon 3-0 in their opening match of Pool C at the World Championships.
Despite some valiant defiance from the African team, the Dutch masters ran out 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 winners.
Cameroon coach Peter Nonnenbroich had said his team would be happy to win a set in the tournament, but his players acquitted themselves well and refused to be overwhelmed by one of the tournament favorites.
Cameroon showed they were there to fight from the start. They were only three points behind at the first technical timeout and four points back at the second.
Rebecca Rose Ngo Nkot's spikes were not only huge, they were very accurate. As "backup," Marguerite Messina Ondoua also scored with some heavy hits.
In defense, Cameroon libero Patricia Ndolo Ngombi was everywhere and dealt with the Dutch big hitters with amazing agility and spirit. She also showed great skill in setting up the big guns for their spikes.
In the end, the Dutch pulled away after the second technical timeout of the first set despite some brave defense from Ndolo Ngombi.
In the second set, the Cameroonians again showed some spectacular plays with Ngo Nkot at the center of their best stuff, spiking huge and serving very strongly.
But the Dutch responded with some clinical play and strong spiking, with Manon Flier overwhelming at times, both at the net and with her serve.
Early on, the Cameroonians were making a game of it, pulling to within three points at 11-8, but as the match wore on, some of their inexperience showed, particularly on serving.
In the third set, the Dutch jumped out to a 5-1 lead before Cameroon coach Peter Nonnenbroich called a timeout, which allowed his team to gather themselves and make another fightback.
But a long serve by Messina Ondoua at 12-10 gave the momentum back to the Dutch, although the Cameroonians were again just two points back at 17-15.
Excellent blocking by Caroline Wensink and Chaine Staelens set up matchpoint, but not before Messina Ondoua had delivered another punishing spike.
Fittingly, it was the Netherlands' best player, Flier, who finished things off with another impressive cross-court spike.
