Evelyn Hazyle stood out from the lot when Ghana defeated hosts Ivory Coast on Friday in the opening match of the 2018 FIVB Women World Championship qualifying tournament.
Besides her destabilising serves, which earned her side lofty points, the petite, light-skinned beauty spiked and blocked with bravery while masterminding the control the ball with fine digs.
She spoke with ACLSports.com: after their 3-1 over Ivory Coast.
ACLSports.com: You are one of the most dangerous players in the Ghana team. How did you overcome the hosts side Ivory Coast?
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Evelyn Hazyle: We had a good preparation and we are determined to qualify to the Fivb World Cup and that spirit really helped us through the game even when we faced difficulties.
ACLSports.com: Yes, we noticed that after winning the first and second sets 17-25 and 16-25 respectively, your team literally went to sleep and Ivory Coast pounced on you.
Evelyn Hazyle: The problem was due to fatigue. We were very tired. Our muscles were heavy and our reflexes were losing sharpness. Imagine, we travelled by road to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and we arrived in the afternoon, few hours to the game. We couldn’t take a rest. We had to go for training right away. It wasn’t easy.
ACLSports.com: But you eventually won the fourth set. What did your coach tell you that made the difference?
Evelyn Hazyle: Our coach asked us not to panic and to cool down. He said we should play our usual game and not bother about the Ivory Coast growing momentum. And we did just that and gradually we took over the situation and won.
ACLSports.com: Tomorrow (Saturday August 19), you will be facing Nigeria, one of the top favourites of the competition. What are you planning to do?
Evelyn Hazyle: We know Nigeria are very strong. But we will play our game, as usual, without fear. Nigeria players are very tall and tall players find it difficult to go for low balls and blocking. We plan to exploit that and see what happens.
