Italy's women's national team achieved one of the most impressive comebacks since the start of the third week of the Nations League. The Olympic champions overcame a two-set deficit to defeat Canada 3:2 (22:25, 27:29, 25:23, 25:23, 15:5), thus recording their ninth victory in the tournament.
The victory lifted Italy to second place in the provisional standings with 9 wins, surpassing Brazil on set ratio. Earlier in the day, the Brazilians suffered a sensational loss to Thailand, and the final leader will be determined after the USA's match against the "seleção".
The first two sets were dictated by Canada, led by the unstoppable Kiera Van Ryk. Giovanni Guidetti's team played very confidently in attack and defense, dramatically winning the second set after saving four set points for Italy.
After being down 0:2, however, Julio Velasco's team gradually found its rhythm. The Italians stabilized their reception, improved their blocking game, and started using their middle blockers much more effectively. They clinched the third and fourth sets with 25:23 each and forced the match into a tie-break.
In the decisive fifth set, there was only one team on the court. Italy dominated in all elements, took a convincing lead from the start, and closed the match with a decisive 15:5.
The key figure in the match was Ekaterina Antropova, who scored an impressive 37 points and won the direct duel with Canadian opposite Kiera Van Ryk, who finished with 27 points. It was Antropova who was the main driving force behind the Italian comeback with her strong serve and effective attack in crucial moments.
Italy's success definitively secured the "Squadra Azzurra's" place among the participants in the final tournament in Macau, and the team took another important step towards finishing the preliminary phase at the top of the standings.

photo:volleyballworld.com/