Spain - Switzerland 3:1

In the fifth match in Lodz, Spain beat Switzerland in four sets (25-19, 25-22, 15-25 and 25-14) and scored their first 3 points in the qualification to 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Italy.

In the fifth match in Lodz, Spain beat Switzerland in four sets (25-19, 25-22, 15-25 and 25-14) and scored their first 3 points in the qualification to 2014 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Italy. 

Both teams started the match highly concentrated, eager to get their first points in the tournament. The play continued on a point-by-point basis, until the second TTO, when the Spanish finally managed to jump ahead to 16:13. After that they remained on top till the end of the set and picked it up 25-19. 

The next set was a repetition of the previous one – the beginning was very tight, with Spain taking the lead, this time at 12:8. However, at 23:18 for Spain, Switzerland suddenly regained their focus and nearly tied the score (23:22 for Spain). Nevertheless, after an error in spike on the Swiss side, the Spanish celebrated victory 25-22. 

Set 3 continued the pattern – the score stayed close, but then for the first time in the match the Swiss took the lead at 13:11. After that they refused to lose the grip of the advantage and took the set 25-15, setting the overall score at 2-1 for Spain. 

In set 4 Spain quickly recovered from the defeat and jumped ahead to six-point lead at the first TTO. They maintained the advantage throughout the set and even increased it (23:13) to win the set 25-14. 

“Today we saw the Spanish team that was very solid,” said Switzerland head coach Timothy Lippuner. “They made few mistakes, but it was a good, close game. I wanted to see my team after two loses and I think we are on the good way to improvement. I'm glad we won that thrid set, the two young players that I brought to the court did a great job and really took the game in their hands.” 

Spain captain Helia Gonzales: “We started the game really good. We lost concentration in the third set, because they started playing a lot better in block and defence. We managed to get up from that. We really wanted to win after those two hard loses to Poland and Belgium, it was very important to us.”