The Dutch players showed great spirit and quality to win 3-2 against Serbia
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 14, 2016 – Netherlands Giovanni Guidetti commended his players for showing quality and spirit in the fifth set in their gruelling match against Serbia in Pool B of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games women’s volleyball competition at Maracanazinho on Sunday.
Giovanni Guidetti, Coach of Netherlands:
Serbia played with a lot of reserve players and we were not prepared for that. They entered with a lot of players and we needed time to adjust. We were really making too many mistakes, but in the end, we found our quality and our spirit, and that was the key.
Laura Dijkema, Player of Netherlands:
I am happy with the result because we really wanted to win this game. We controlled Serbia in the first two sets. We lost some energy and some focus in the next sets, but in the end we recovered well.
Brakocevic did not play so much in the other matches, so we were not able to scout her well. She was very good, but in the end our serve and reception made the difference.
Judith Pietersen, Player of Netherlands:
It was not an easy match. We actually started well but there were moments that we were down a little bit. This match showed that we kept fighting and we came up with a victory.
Zoran Terzic, Coach of Serbia:
We must be satisfied today, not only about the results but because the Serbian national players played well today. They showed that they deserve to be in the national team. I am really very happy with the way we played today, but more importantly, I am happy that our players are in good shape coming into the quarterfinals.
Jovana Brakocevic, Player of Serbia:
We started rough, we had ups and downs in the first two sets, but fortunately we woke up and played much better in the next two sets. In the fifth set, both teams had nothing to lose anymore, but the Netherlands just played their best and we made a couple of extra errors, which is why it resulted this way. I am happy that we pushed and never gave up, which will give us confidence in the quarterfinals to play better.