Varna, Bulgaria, June 9, 2017 -
Renan Buiatti and
Lucas Saatkamp were at the basis of Brazil’s success on the first day of the FIVB Volleyball World League tournament in Varna. The South American powerhouse survived a first-set setback against Canada on the way to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23) victory.
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Canada’s
John Gordon Perrin was the best scorer of the match with 20 points. On the winning side, Renan and Lucas contributed 19 and 17 points, respectively.
After this match, the head-to-head record between the two teams in the World League now stands at 15-3 in favour of Brazil
Both teams played really well in the opening set and the battle had been quite equal when
Ricardo Lucarelli scored two powerful aces in a row and took Brazil two points ahead at 20-18. After this moment, the Canadians showed some great character to stay in contention against the powerful opponent. With two consecutive strong serves by
Daniel Cornelius Jansen Vandoorn, the second one ending with an ace, the North Americans edged forward to win the set by 25-23.
In the second set Brazil started playing better in blocking and serving and the result was not delayed - 25-20 in favour of the Olympic champions at the end of the set, shaped up by Renan with a powerful spike for the last point.
The Brazilian setter
Bruno Rezende made the difference in the third set with some great serves including one ace in the end. His clever decisions near the net led the South Americans to a 25-22 close. The Olympic champions continued to play well in blocking and offence and won the fourth set by 25-23 to celebrate with the victory.