MATCH INFO

Hiroshima, Japan, November 8, 2011 - After an impressive three wins in the first round, Italy kept rolling with a relatively easy (25-19, 25-10, 25-19) win against Argentina at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza on Tuesday.

Italy had a fairly balanced attack on the day as Simona Gioli collected 14 points while Carolina del Pilar Costagrande and 17-year-old Caterina Bosetti, playing her first full game for the national team with older sister Lucia, posted 10 apiece. For Argentina, who had never beaten Italy in four previous matches, Florencia Natasha Busquets notched seven points.

Both teams started the first set with a flurry or errors, but Italy’s Costagrande, who was actually born in Argentina but became an Italian citizen 10 years ago, drove a pair of spikes home to put her side up by one at the first TTO. That was the first of a run of seven points that gave Italy a 13-7 lead. Italy’s Sara Anzarello and Costagrande, the tournament’s leading points scorer prior to the start of the day, were attacking well, as was Gioli who had a pair of line drives from out wide to put her side way up 21-12. Argentina bounced back well taking seven of the next nine including Emilce Sosa’s second ace of the set. But there was too much Gioli down the stretch as she posted six in the period to help Italy take it 25-19.

Everything was going right for Italy in the second. Captain Eleonora Lo Bianco was blocked at the net only to have the ball drop behind her as she faced the net and with both arms extended straight behind her, she kept it alive for an Italy score, helping her side up 8-2. Anzanello then joined the magic act tipping over a Lo Bianco set as it was rising, fooling the Argentina defence to make it 15-5. Gioli once again played the role of finisher with a trio of attacks late to take the set 25-10 with ease.

The third set was a little closer at the start with the teams tied at 9-9 early, but then Italy broke loose on a six point run capped by surprisingly good defence by the diminutive Lo Bianco on Nizetich. First she put a block on Nizetich to score, and then forced her to spike long on the following point. She would go on to give Italy match point with a clever tip at the net, and from there Caterina Bosetti, the Most Impressive Player of the match, closed it out with the last of her 10 points.

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