Serbia and Italy clinch wins in opening women's volleyball matches

Baku, June 13, AZERTAC Serbia powered to a 3-0 win over Croatia in the historical first women’s volleyball match of the European Games. The world No8 team dominated from the first set, with Marta Drpa (SRB) writing her name into the record books as she won the first point of Baku 2015. Serbia took the first set 25-15, and won the second and third sets each by 25-17 to wrap up the game up in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Crystal Hall 1. “It’s great to start the first European Games with a win. That was very important for us,” said Milena Rasic (SRB). In the morning’s second game, Italy beat Belgium 3-0 in a dramatic game with a series of fantastic rallies that thrilled the crowd . The strength of the Italians - ranked world No5 - eventually proved too much for the experienced Belgian team, who can take heart from their brave performance. Italy won the first set 25-22, the second set 25-20 and the third by the same score. Italy’s Miriam Sylla had a particularly impressive game, and was cheered by the crowd for her dynamism and determination. “Belgium was not an easy team to start against, especially for me as it was my first game at this level," Sylla said. "They are a tough team and it was a tough game. They were good, but we were better.”