World no. 1 Italy continues its winning streak after taking down reigning world champions Serbia in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
World no. 1 Italy is through to the semifinals of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 after knocking off reigning world champions Serbia in the quarterfinals in straight sets, 26-24, 25-20, 25-20, at the South Paris Arena 1 on Wednesday, August 7 (Philippine time).
Advancing to the semifinals for the first time in their history, the Italians are now just one win away from securing their first medal in the women's volleyball tournament at the Olympics.
Just over a month after being crowned winners of the Volleyball Nations League 2024, the Italians performed remarkably against the world champions, controlling the match despite a slow start in the first set.
In the third set, Italy’s star opposite hitter Paola Egonu came up big as she helped her squad distance themselves against Serbia.
Blocking also proved to be a big difference in the game as Italy finished with seven blocks compared to just two for Serbia.
Egonu led Italy with 19 points on 17 attacks, one block, and one service ace. She was able to match Serbia’s Tijana Boškovic, who also finished with 19 points.
In addition to Egonu, Italy secured the victory thanks to seven points from outside hitter Caterina Bosetti, six points each from middle blockers Sarah Fahr and Anna Danesi, and outside hitter Myriam Sylla.
Boškovic was the lone double-digit scorer for Serbia, as Aleksandra Uzelac and Bianka Buša finished with just eight and seven points, respectively.
The Italians will face world no. 3 Turkiye on Friday, August 9 at 2:00 a.m. (Philippine time) for a shot to advance to the gold medal match.