Caguas, Puerto Rico, September 11, 2015 - A hard-fought game was the final act of FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship Day 1 action in Caguas, as Italy was challenged by Chinese Taipei’s tireless defensive style. With effort but also authority, Italy subdued the Asian side 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-21).
An Italian trident formed by Paola Egonu (14 points), Anna Nicoletti (13) and Anastasia Guerra (11) carved the way for the team, to break through a thick defence by Chinese Taipei. When Italy also found some momentum from the service line, things were downhill for them as they finished with a 9-4 margin in that area.
On the Asian side, Tseng Wan-Ling and Chen Tzu-Ya were the most prolific scorers with 8 points each. However, the ability to keep the ball flying was the best feature of a team that simply never gave up.
Chinese Taipei’s superb defensive plays made things extremely hard for Italy in the first set. The Asian side was able to lead until 18-16, but then Italy answered also with defence and Egonu made the comeback possible. Chinese Taipei was shocked from then on and Italy, with strong serves and a lethal Egonu-Guerra duo, walked to a straight-set win.