Lonneke Sloetjes, who topped scored at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament last month, has led the Netherlands' scoring with 27 and 15 points in their opening two games in Group 1
Kaliningrad, Russia, June 11, 2016 – Lonneke Sloetjes top scored with 15 points to head Netherlands 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-22) triumph over Turkey in Pool C1 of the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix in Kaliningrad on Saturday. Polen Uslupehlivan led the Turkish offense with 17 points.
Both players were the best scorers for their teams on the opening day and they did the same again on Saturday. Sloetjes scored 27 points in the Netherlands' loss to Russia on Friday while Uslupehlivan recorded 20 in Turkey's straight sets win against Belgium.
Even though both teams know each other very well from European zone, this was their first meeting in the World Grand Prix. The Netherlands advanced to Group 1 last summer, after winning the Final Four of the Group 2. Their last meeting in Europe was during the 2015 European Championship semifinal, when the Netherlands won in straight sets.
The first set started with the Netherlands enjoying a comfortable advantage 1-5 after a series of unforced errors of Turkey. They were still looking for the right rhythm after the first TTO 3-9. It was all the Netherlands from there as they pressured Turkey from all flanks. Four powerful serves in a row from Uslupehlivan slowed down the tempo of the Netherlands and they were one point ahead by the second TTO 16-15. Giovanni Guidetti made three substitutions to strengthen weak positions of his team. They leveled the score several times with the help of Sloetjes and Anne Buijs to snatch the first set victory 27-25.
The second set began with both teams trying to catch the lead 4-4. A couple of blocks from the Netherlands out of the court helped Turkey reach a minimal deficit 6-4. The Netherlands regained the control soon by the first TTO 8-7, showing perfect defence skills. They extended the lead to 15-12 and seemed to be out of reach. Turkey fought back with some good scoring efforts from Uslupehlivan 19-19. Ferhat Akbas asked for a time-out, when the Netherlands’s confident block earned a two points advantage 21-23, but it didn’t help as the Netherlands dominated on all fronts 25-21.The teams had an intense exchange of attacks in the beginning of the third set, until the Netherlands claimed the authority with fierce spikes from Sloetjes 8-5. Suddenly they lost the tempo and gave in four points in a row. Turkey’s Kubra Akman used every chance to keep the score even, but couldn’t sustain their intensity, trailing 16-13. The Netherlands prevailed with impressive spikes and uncomfortable serves to close the set 25-22.