The women’s volleyball team’s debut at the Paris Olympics went as expected. Facing Kenya, considered the weakest team in the tournament, Brazil made its superiority count and had no problems in achieving its first victory in the competition.
In the first set, after a balanced start, Brazil pulled away on the scoreboard, counting on many errors from the Kenyans. The Brazilian victory in the set came by 25 to 14. In the second set, Kenya started better, but soon the Brazilians retook the lead on the scoreboard, counting on points from blocks and taking advantage of counterattacks. After 19 minutes, Brazil closed the set at 25 to 13.
The third set followed the same pattern as the previous ones. In the final stretch of the game, coach José Roberto Guimarães took the opportunity to give other players in the squad a chance to play. Middle blocker Diana made a sequence of three blocks. And it was up to outside hitter Júlia Bergmann, another one who came off the bench, to close the set at 25 to 12, and the game at 3 sets to 0, after just 1 hour and 04 minutes of play.
IT WILL NOT PASS! 😜❌️
📸: Wander Roberto/@timebrasil #VolleyballInParis2024 pic.twitter.com/ctUABfeBrM
— Volleyball Brazil (@volei) July 29, 2024
The blocking numbers help to understand Brazil’s superiority on the court: there were 16 blocks against just 3 from their opponents. Middle blocker Carol was the main blocker on the court, with 5 hits, and scored 13 points in total. She tied with opposite Rosamaria for the top scorer in the duel.
Brazil leads Group B, ahead of Poland on tiebreaker criteria. The Brazilian team’s next game will be on Thursday, August 1, against Japan, at 8 am, Brasília time.
On Sunday, August 4th, the first round will conclude against Poland at 4 pm. In the Olympic volleyball tournament, the 12 teams are divided into three groups of four countries. The two best-placed teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals, as well as the two best third-placed teams.
