Yokohama, Japan, October 3, 2018 - Germany won for the third match in a row at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship on Wednesday, powered to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-22) win over Mexico by an in-form Louisa Lippmann.
Lippmann scored 16 points, including a pair of aces, and was backed up by Jennifer Geerties, who contributed 12 to the latest victory for Felix Koslowski’s side.
Mexico battled bravely and didn’t let Germany have things all their own way, with captain Andrea Rangel putting up the most points for Ricardo Naranjo’s side, 18, including 15 spikes and two blocks.
Mexico haven’t met any opponent as many times as they have faced Germany at the World Championship, and having lost five of their last seven meetings they came out of the traps quickly in the first set as they looked to change their luck. Melanie Guadalupe Parra Quintero spiked to put them 11-10 up, and Mexico kept their noses in front until 15-14. Germany mounted an impressive recovery from that point on though, and back-to-back Geerties aces enabled them to take the first set 25-19.
Lippmann slipped into her rhythm in the second set to steer Germany one step closer to victory, sending a thunderous spike across court to put her team 14-10 up, after which captain Maren Fromm blocked superbly to ensure a 16-11 lead at the second technical time out. Lippmann aced for the first point after the players returned to court, and after that Germany didn’t look back to move 2-0 up in the match.
Mexico had lost 17 of their last 18 World Championship matches - a run only broken by an assured 3-0 win over Argentina in Yokohama on 30 September - but they didn’t lack for guts in the third set. Despite Germany maintaining the initiative off the back of some fine shots from Jana Franziska Poll and Ivana Vanjak, the Mexicans rallied well behind Rangel and Samantha Bricio to move to within two points at 20-18. Lippmann then returned fire with two spikes though, and while Mexico hung on to see out Germany’s first set point they were unable to do any more than that and a Bricio serve into the net handed the match to the Germans.
Germany’s last action in Pool A will come against hosts Japan on Thursday, when Mexico will be going head-to-head with the Netherlands.