Coach Marichev speaks to the media after Russia's 3-2 win over Italy
Bari, Italy, June 19, 2016 – Russia raced back from a one-set deficit to beat Italy in a thrilling five-setter 3-2 (19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 22-25, 15-10) in Bari on Sunday.
Miriam Fatime Sylla, spiker, Italy: It was an amazing match, they did their utmost as playing with the starting 6. We sent the play into overdrive all the game. Sometimes we lost our focus which saw us lose the tie-break. I was very keen for playing and I think you sensed it. When you are out, you always wish you could enter the court. Tomorrow we'll play against Thailand early in the morning, so we need to rest and focus on what is to come.
Yury Marichev, coach, Russia: It was an important win over Italy on their home soil. Three victories out of three leading as to the top rankings overall. Ahead of the Final Six. I am very grateful to the Italian enthusiasts. Despite their cheering on Italy, they were very respectful to us. I am very pleased with the results achieved so far in this round. Here we tried differents tactics entailing changes. Kosheleva wasn't on the court yesterday but she did play today. Italy and us have two different strategies in aproaching to the match.