European champions Pomi Casalmaggiore needed to go on the 2016 FIVB Women’s Club World Championships first five-set match to vanquish Brazil’s Rexona-Sesc Rio 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 19-25, 18-16 in Group A at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
After surrendering the first set, the Italian club rattled off consecutive set wins and looked in control of the match, leading the fourth frame, 7-3. But the Brazilians rallied back led by young open hitter Gabbi Guimaraes who saw her team to a 14-9 advantage which sealed a fifth set.
Both squads struggled to take control of the decider, making plays off their sideouts to keep the match within a point. The Brazilians secured match point thrice, netting spikes from Gabi to get 14-13 and 16-15. But Rexona’s late errors kept Pomi in the match, with Gabi serving out to tie at 16-all. A hit from Lucia Bosetti gave the Italians their first taste of match point, 17-16, which Lauren Gibbemeyer followed with a block to seal the match.
“It was a great match. My players really wanted it in the end. We also got a lot of errors late in the fifth set that helped us seal this win. My players knew that we needed to win tonight in order to have a chance at the next round,” said Pomi head coach Giovanni Caprara.
Samants Fabris anchored Pomi’s offense with 24 points off 22 attacks, Jovana Stevanovic 13 markers, while Gibbemeyer finished with 10 points including four blocks.
Gabi led all scorers with a tournament-high 29 points while Anne Bujis added 18 markers for the Brazilians who slipped to 1-1 after a win over PSL Manila last night.
Pomi (1-1) faces PSL-F2 Logistics (0-1) tomorrow, 7:00 pm while Rexona (1-1) has Eczasibasi Vitra (1-0) at 1:00 pm.
The Scores
Pomi Casalmaggiore (3) – Fabris 24, Bosetti 16, Stevanovic 13, Gibbemeyer 10, Lloyd 5, Tirrozi 5, Bacchi 3, Guerra 0, Peric 0, Suzic 0, Siressi (L)
Rexona-Sesc (2) – Guimaraes 29, Bujis 18, Barreto 9, Perreira 9, Da Silva C. 8, Marinho 8, Bidias 0, Ratzke 0, Felix 0, Oliveira (L)
