The Czech national team kept the intrigue alive in the battle for survival in the Women's Volleyball Nations League, after completing a full comeback against the Dominican Republic and winning 3:2 (17:25, 24:26, 25:18, 31:29, 15:10) in a match from the second week of the tournament, played in Pasig City (Philippines).
The Czech women seemed doomed after the first two sets, but they showed character and achieved one of the most dramatic victories since the start of the competition. The fourth set proved crucial, in which they saved difficult situations and snatched a 31:29 success to carry their momentum into the tie-break.
The victory brought Czechia 5.87 points for the FIVB world ranking, with the team being 13th in the world with a total of 222.75 points. The Dominican Republic lost the same number of points but remains ahead of the Czech women in 12th position with 226.38 points.
However, the most important consequence of the match is related to the VNL standings. After the end of the match, Bulgaria remains in 16th place with 2 wins, 5 points, and a coefficient of 0.871. The Dominican Republic is immediately behind the Bulgarians in 17th position also with 5 points, but with one win and a weaker coefficient 0.827. France is 18th with 3 points, but has played one less match and is currently playing against Belgium.
Thus, the fate of the Bulgarian national team remains open before the third and final week of the tournament, with the outcome also depending on the result of the France Belgium match.
The match statistics show how close the battle was. Czechia finished with a minimal advantage in attack (70:67), on serve (3:1) and in points after opponent's errors (26:24), while the Dominicans had superiority in blocking (16:13). The total number of points scored is also in favor of the European team 112:108.
The most effective player for the winners was Brančuška with 28 points, and Jehlářová added another 14. For the Dominican Republic, González and Heredia scored the most points with 15 and 17 points, respectively.
Czechia's success could prove to be one of the key results in the battle for VNL survival, and for Bulgaria, it means that before the final week, Marcelo Abbondanza's team continues to hold its fate in its own hands.

photo:volleyballworld.com