Florence, Italy, September 16, 2018 – Italy easily claimed their matchup with the Dominican Republic 3-0 to keep a perfect record in Pool A ahead of the clash with Slovenia where first place will be at stake on Tuesday.
José Gutierrez, Dominican Republic head coach: “First of all I wish to congratulate Team Italy and I wish them all the best for the second round of the competition. We had an amazing experience here. Some of my kids have seen many of the players of Italy only on TV as real stars, so it was not easy to fight face to face. We are still working for the near future.”
Henry Antonio Lopez, captain of the Dominican Republic: “We did our best, and we improve with every day. We are here for this. I am happy with some spikes of mine, which succeeded against the Italian block.”
Gianlorenzo Blengini, Italy head coach: “Every single match is important for our journey in the tournament, not just in Pool A. Some matches are technically harder than others are; however, all of them give us the chance to gain the same three points. From this point of view, we played a great game.”
Simone Giannelli, setter of Italy: “This is the fourth victory in a row, and that is obviously very good. After a match like yesterday’s one, there could have been a loss of mental stamina. However, we controlled the game from start to end. On Tuesday we are going to play with Slovenia and it is important to take as many points as possible for the second phase.”