The Italian national team won the European U18 girls' title, after convincingly defeating Turkey 3:0 (25:20, 25:16, 25:15) in the championship final in Riga. Thus, the young Italians earned their fourth gold in the history of the competition and took sweet revenge for their only loss during the tournament, which came precisely against the Turks in the group stage.
Expectations for a contested final were entirely logical after the dramatic match between the two teams in the groups, but this time the Italians left no doubt as to which was the better team. From the very first rallies, Stefano Gregoris' protégées set a high tempo and controlled the development of the match.
After a relatively even start to the first set, Italy again pulled ahead in crucial moments and took the lead. In the second set, the European champions already dominated completely, and in the third, they withstood Turkey's initial pressure, after which a series of excellent performances in attack and block ended the dispute.
The top scorer for the champions was Anita Tessariol with 19 points. Bianca Legrenzi, Lisa Dharma Monari Gamba, and Giulia Faleschini added 9 points each. For Turkey, Aylin Uysalcan scored 14 points.
Italy's coach Stefano Gregoris highlighted his team's blocking performance and the low number of unforced errors as key factors for success in the final. The specialist emphasized that despite the individual class of some players, the team's greatest weapon is collective play.
Lisa Dharma Monari Gamba was chosen as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the championship, becoming one of the leading figures of the Italian squad on their way to the title.
Hungary earned the bronze medals, defeating France 3:1 (25:23, 25:27, 25:20, 25:18). This is a historic success for the Hungarian team, who for the first time in their history climbed onto the podium at a European U18 Girls' Championship.
Interestingly, Hungary reached the Final Four after an impressive comeback against Bulgaria in the last group stage match, when they were down 0:2 sets but came back to win 3:2 and eliminated the young "lionesses". In the bronze medal match, the Hungarians also took revenge on France, who had defeated them in the group stage.
Greta Pampuch led Hungary to victory with 22 points, while twins Anna and Eszter Zsombor also played a key role. Anna finished with 15 points, including an impressive blocking performance, and Eszter contributed another 10 points. Despite the defeat, France also achieved their best-ever ranking in the championship's history.
U18 European Championship Dream Team:
MVP:Lisa Dharma Monari Gamba (Italy)
Setter:Alessia Manda (Italy)
Opposite Hitter:Aylin Uysalcan (Turkey)
Outside Hitters:Giulia Faleschini (Italy) and Ekrin Selis Türkyasar (Turkey)
Middle Blockers:Bianca Legrenzi (Italy) and Anna Zsombor (Hungary)
Libero:Lal Luledji (Turkey)
photos:cev.eu
