Pesaro, Italy, June 5, 2015 - Serbia bounced back after conceding the first set and earned their first win of the 2015 World League with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23) victory over Italy.
The young Italian squad had every reason to feel positive before today's match following two hard-fought wins against Australia last week. It was Luca Vettori who lead them to victory in an exciting finish to the opening set. The Serbians, who suffered two defeats to Brazil last week, were bent on turning things around in the second set. Atanasijevic led his team in attack as they fought back from a three-point deficit to close out the set at 25-23.
The third set proved even more thirilling than the previous two. It was Serbia who was in front for most of the set, but Italy managed to save two consecutive set points giving the local fans hope that they would prevail. It was not be, though, as the Serbians held their nerves better and clinched the set 26-24.
The final set saw Serbia race away to a five-point lead at the second technical time-out. Italy's Ivan Zaytsev entered the court for the first time in the match and his powerful spikes helped the home side get closer at 23-21 for Serbia. Once again it was the visitors, however, who dealt with the pressure better, as a service error from Lanza handed Serbia the set, 25-23.
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