Guidetti: My team did not give up

VakifBank Head Coach Giovanni Guidetti said, “We did not play our best volleyball in this game, but I'm happy to see the team putting the court a lot of great spirit. We did not play well in the second and third set, but my team did not give up” after Fenerbahce Opet game.

VakifBank Women’s Volleyball Team has defeated Fenerbahce Opet 3-2 in the final first game of the Turkish League Play-Offs. VakifBank Head Coach Giovanni Guidetti and spikers Meliha Ismailoglu and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley spoke about the Fenerbahce Opet game.

Giovanni Guidetti: “Many matches will be played like this one because the levels of the two teams are very similar. We must be waiting for tough matches. We know we are playing against a strong team. We did not play our best volleyball in this game, but I'm happy to see the team putting the court a lot of great spirit. We did not play well in the second and third set, but my team did not give up. We tried to find a solution both to stay in the match and to come back. We reflect our spirit on the field. We have great players. We see this when we look at the game.”

Meliha Ismailoglu: “We were expecting a very difficult match, a tough series. There were many, many long rallies today. Both teams did very good defence. We attacked with less percentage after the first set. We will go over it and watch it again. Maybe we will change our tactics, but despite that, we had a very good game. We did very good defence later on, especially in the 5th set, we killed a lot more balls. We showed our team play. I congratulate my teammates.”

Michelle Bartsch-Hackley: ”I think the game wasn't so easy for us. We started out strong, but also I think they improved a lot throughout the match. They're great team, so we're expecting a lot from them. We fought really hard and used everyone from our team. I'm just proud that found a way to win.”