United States of America repeated its effort of day of day one and defeated Spain 3-0 in the gold-medal final of the first 4x4 world tournament, not dropping as set. Russia downed Australia 3-0 for the bronze medal.
Final Placings
1. United States of America
2. Spain
3. Russia
4. Australia
5. Croatia
6. Turkiye
7. Greece
8. South Africa
Awards
Most Valuable Player
Ryann Neushul (USA)
Best Goalkeeper
Mariona Terre (ESP)
Media All Star Team
Goalkeeper
Mariona Terre (ESP)
Field Players
Jenna Flynn (USA)
Olga Lupinogina (RUS)
Ryann Neushul (USA)
Overview
USA needed just 10 goals to dispense with Spain, who netted four, to win the tournament that has fans excited for its future. Russia, who lost to Spain twice, downed Australia with a tally of 15 goals to seven in the 3-0 sets. Australia lost to Sain and USA going into the medal match.
Croatia had the better of Turkiye 3-1 in an equally low-scoring encounter for fifth position. Greece, which has under-performed by its standard in Dubrovnik, gained its first win, over winless South Africa 3-0 for seventh ranking.
Match Reports
Classification 1-2
Match 28, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 3 SPAIN 0 (4-1, 4-3, 2-0)
USA made it a clean sweep, beating Spain 3-0 on day one and repeating the dose on day seven. Molly Cahill’s team was flawless and was probably underworked, never dropping a set and having to play bottom-ranked South Africa on consecutive days. It was a 9-3 difference on day one and 8-4 today. Captain Rachel Fattal opened the match with the sprint and the first two goals. Carlota Penalver scored on extra to bring Spain to life but superstar Ryann Neushul took it to 3-1 on extra. Jenna Flynn hit the post on penalty but scored the rebound. Fattal gave up a penalty foul with Lucia Rodriguez having her shot saved. Neushul began the second set on extra and counter before Isabel Piralkova scored off a five-metre shot and then on penalty for 2-2. Rodriguez gave Spain the lead on a five-metre shot. Jewel Roemer pulled off two miraculous goals in five seconds, firstly with the bonus penalty and then the five-metre shot for 4-3 with seven seconds left. Jenna Flynn scored on penalty in the first minute of the third set and at 1:33 Roemer nailed the bonus penalty shot. A Spanish timeout could not find the double goal needed and USA swam home a winner.
Match Heroes
Neushul completed her wonderful week with three goals alongside Roemer. Lauren Steele made 11 saves in the USA goal. Piralkova scored a double for Spain.
Stats Don’t Lie
USA went two from four on extra and Spain one from two. Both teams missed one of their two penalty attempts and USA nudged Spain 22-21 in shots.
Classification 3-4
Match 27, AUSTRALIA 0 RUSSIA 3 (3-4, 1-5, 3-6)
Russia met Spain twice and lost the second match that assigned it to the play-off for third. Australia lost to Spain and USA ahead of the bronze medal, so it seemed Russia would have the edge. This it did, after a slow start in which Australia struck first. However, Mariia Makarova and Ekaterina Prokofyeva took the lead. Elvina Sitdikova countered for 3-0; Pippa Pedley quickly responded but Sitdikova shot from a five-metre free throw. Isabella Sayer countered for Australia’s third goal at 1:05 but neither side could improve on Russia’s 4-3 margin. Makarova and Prokofyeva had Russia two up until Jolie Marsden converted extra for 2-1 at 2:42. Olga Lupinogina countered; Sitdikova scored on penalty and Prokofyeva countered for 5-1 at 0:23. In the third period, Christina DiGiandomenico converted a penalty foul and Lupinogina replied on counter. Margarita Pystina scored on extra; Marsden also took a goal on extra and then on counter for the 3-2 advantage. Sitdikova levelled and then scored the go-ahead goal on extra for 4-3. Lupinogina and Sitdikova both scored on counter for 6-3 at 0:50. A Russian timeout could not find a goal and Russia had the match sewn up 3-0.
Match Heroes
Russia’s Sitdikova was the star with six goals while Prokofyeva and Lupinogina scored hat-tricks. Marsden was Australia’s best with three and goalkeeper Jasmine Higgs claimed nine saves.
Stats Don’t Lie
Russia made three from four on extra and the Aussies two from four. Australia scored both penalty attempts and Russia one. The shots went to Russia by a huge 27-18.
Classification 5-6
Match 26, CROATIA 3 TURKIYE 1 (3-1, 4-3, 2-3, 4-2)
This was the longest of the women’s matches on the last day and reflected the closeness of some of these teams. It was a fifth win for the host nation, losing to Spain and Australia en route to the play-off. Neli Jankovic scored the first two goals for Croatia and Nika Alamat scored from the five-metre throw for 3-0. Elvira Yermakova replied on penalty at 1:41. In the second set, Croatian captain Ria Glas scored on extra and Kubra Kus responded on penalty. Alka Lulic and Hamiyet Suzmecelik traded goals. At 1:57, Alamat was successful on extra and Yermakova responded for 3-3. Karla Popovic took the five-metre route at 1:02, enough to win a second set. Lulic and Elizaveta Ivanova had the score at 1-1 by 1:59 and at 1:12, Kus gave Turkiye its first lead on extra. Croatia called a timeout at 0:02 and Jankovic equalised on the buzzer. In golden goal, both teams shot twice but Croatia had two ejections and Kus put away the bonus penalty shot for a 3-2 set victory. It went to a fourth and Jankovic scored twice and Glas once for 3-0. Kus sandwiched Jankovic in scoring for 4-2 by 0:53, which was the final score, giving Croatia a 3-1 victory and fifth classification. Turkiye came into the match with just the one win over Greece.
Match Heroes
Jankovic finished with six goals and Lana Korac took in 11 saves for Croatia. Kus was Turkiye’s best shooter with five.
Stats Don’t Lie
Croatia made four from six on extra to Turkiye’s two from four. Turkiye scored the only two penalty goals and Turkiye out-shot Croatia 33-28.
Classification 7-8
Match 25, SOUTH AFRICA 0 GREECE 3 (1-6, 2-6, 3-6)
Greece leaves Dubrovnik with the one win with its best outing in Dubrovnik. An opening 6-1 period set it up for the other three as South Africa began scoring more goals. Captain Kasiana Margariti scored from in front and senior international Anastasia Bikou rattled in the next three. Greece scored twice on penalty for 5-0 and Margariti followed her penalty strike with a counter-attack goal. Danya Thompson converted a penalty for 6-1, 13 seconds from the buzzer. Eirini Paterou scored twice to start the second set. Boati Motau converted extra for 3-1 and Emma Davies put one away from in front for 4-2 down. Greece missed a penalty attempt but gained the bonus penalty score for 5-2, closing the period at 6-2. In the third, Bikou and Margariti scored, although Bikou had her penalty attempt saved. Maxine Hannan and Bulelwa Mzimela equalised at two. Margariti scored twice for 4-2 and Bikou made it five at 0:48.Hannan finished both teams’ involvement in Dubrovnik, going home with some unique experiences.
Match Heroes
Margariti had her best day with seven goals and Bikou nabbed five. Georgia Karagianni netted three for Greece. Hannan scored twice for South Africa.
Stats Don’t Lie
Greece converted four from five on extra to one from two. Greece missed two of four on penalty and South Africa one from two. The shots heavily favoured Greece 33-22.