Olympiacos moved to within one victory of the Greek Women’s Water Polo League title after edging NO Vouliagmeni 13-12 in another tense final in Piraeus.
The result gives Olympiacos a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series, meaning they can secure the championship on Tuesday at Laimos. Vouliagmeni, last season’s champions, will now need to win at home to force a fifth and deciding match back in Piraeus on Thursday.
After the first two finals had already underlined how little separates the two sides, Game 3 followed a similar pattern. Olympiacos led from the start and never trailed, but Vouliagmeni stayed close enough throughout to ensure the contest remained alive until the final stages.
The home side made an excellent start at “Petros Kapagerov”, with Santa scoring twice early on before Myriokefalitaki made it 3-0 midway through the opening period. Vouliagmeni responded well, however, with Moolhuijzen converting a penalty to open their account before Xenaki cut the gap to one. A second goal from Moolhuijzen then brought the visitors level at 3-3, completing a 3-0 run of their own.
Olympiacos regained control in the second quarter. Another 3-0 run gave the red and whites a 6-3 advantage, and although Vouliagmeni continued to battle, the hosts restored a three-goal cushion before half-time, going into the break 8-5 ahead.
The decisive period came in the third quarter, when Olympiacos stretched the margin to four goals for the first time. Kotsioni saved a penalty from Siouti, but the Vouliagmeni player responded almost immediately in the next phase to make it 10-6. NOV later reduced the deficit to two at 11-9, despite struggling on the player-up, but Olympiacos again found the answers when it mattered.
Leading 12-9 and then 13-10, Olympiacos had just enough control to see out the victory, despite a late Vouliagmeni push that brought the final score back to 13-12.
Olympiacos now head to Laimos with the chance to reclaim the title, while Vouliagmeni will need one more big home performance to keep their defence alive.
Olympiacos 13-12 NO Vouliagmeni
Quarters: 3-3, 5-2, 3-4, 2-3
Series: Olympiacos lead 2-1
Game 4: Tuesday, 2 June, 17:00, Laimos
Possible Game 5: Thursday, 4 June, 19:30, Piraeus
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