Lausanne, Switzerland, June 16, 2017 –
Drazen Luburic was the top scorer as
Serbia qualified for Group 1’s Final Six in the FIVB World League with a tense 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 28-30, 15-12) victory over
Argentina in Cordoba on Friday.
Meanwhile,
Canada strengthened their chances with a five-set (25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 15-10) victory over
Belgium in Antwerp, while Final Six hosts
Brazil breezed past
Bulgaria 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-22), also in Cordoba.
In the day’s other Group 1 match in Antwerp,
Italy got the better of
France in another pulsating five-setter: 20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14.
There were six matches in Group 2, with leaders
Slovenia earning maximum points in a spell-binding match against
Egypt in Cairo. The overall score was 3-0, but the set scores tell a different story: 25-23, 39-27, 25-23. Behind Slovenia, the
Netherlands and
Australia both raised their records to 5-2 on the back of very different wins.
The Dutch had few problems defeating
Korea 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) in The Hague, but
Japan pushed Australia to the limit in Kunshan, China, with the Aussies prevailing 3-2 (29-27, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-9). Japan fell to 4-3 but are fourth in the Group 2 standings.
The
Czech Republic and
Slovakia are also on 4-3 after the two neighbouring countries clashed in The Hague, with the Czechs easing to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17) victory.
China leapfrogged opponents
Turkey into seventh place with a 3-0 victory in Kunshan. Again, the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story until you add the set scores: 43-41, 26-24, 25-21. The day’s other Group 2 match saw
Portugal beat
Finland 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22) in Cairo.
There were no Group 3 matches on Friday as the competition has reached its final stage. Saturday’s semi-finals will see hosts
Mexico take on
Estonia, while
Germany will face
Spain in an all-European clash.
Saturday sees some huge Group 1 matches on the schedule, including:
Argentina v Brazil
Italy v Belgium
France v Canada.
Quick links - Volleyball:
Group 1
Drazen Luburic led the scorers as defending champions Serbia qualified for the 2017 World League Final Six after withstanding a brilliant Argentina fightback in Cordoba. The Serbs struggled throughout to claim their sixth victory in seven games and draw level with Group 1 leaders France. They relied on the four-headed threat of Drazen Luburic (19 points),
Marko Ivovic (18 points),
Uros Kovacevic (17 points) and
Srecko Lisinac (16 points). Martin Ramos led Argentina with 18 points.
Italy kept alive their slim hopes of progressing to the Final Six as they ended France's unbeaten record in a pulsating 3-2 victory (20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14). The competition’s top-scorer,
Stephen Boyer, who began the match with 106 points from six matches, added another 19 for France alongside team-mate
Thibault Rossard, but it was sturdy Italian defence which saw the underdogs to victory.
Matteo Piano (five) and
Fabio Ricci (four) led the way with some outstanding blocks as Italy largely thwarted a French attack that had outgunned so many teams in their first six matches. The Italians also looked extremely dangerous in attack with
Luigi Randazzo,
Luca Vettori and Ricci all weighing in with 14 points.
Canada boosted their hopes of qualifying for the 2017 World League Final Six after withstanding a brilliant Belgian fightback to win a five-set thriller (25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 15-10) in Friday’s late Group 1 game in Antwerp.
Stephen Timothy Maar was in electric form for the Pan-American Games bronze medallists, he poured in 24 points to lead the Canadian attack, while
Graham Vigrass and
Daniel Vandoorn weighed in with 16 points apiece.
Vital Heynen’s hosts, who were on the backfoot for much of the contest, were led by
Gert van Walle who chipped in with 20 points
“This was a hard game and I'm happy with the win,” said Canada coach
Stephane Antiga. “We could have won 3-0, but we didn't.”
Group 2
Mitja Gasparini scored 17 points and led Slovenia to a closely contested 3-0 win over Egypt on Friday. In what may serve as a consolation prize for the home team,
Ahmed Abdelhay was the night’s top scorer, having put 23 points on the board. The second set was a nailbiter from start to finish. Slovenia managed to build a slender 22-20 lead, but Egypt took a few points in a row to earn set point. Slovenia persevered, however, saving a few set points of their own before finishing the long set. A powerful spike from Gasparini sealed the set for Slovenia at 39-37.
Chuan Jiang scored a match high of 17 points contributing to China's 3-0 (43-41, 26-24, 25-21) victory over Turkey. The first set saw an amazing battle between the two teams with China prevailing 43-41. Turkey were close to winning it when they extended their lead to 22-19 but three great rallies let China level the scores at 22 and eventually to win the set.
Paul Carroll scored a match high 27 points contributing to Australia's 3-2 (29-27, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-9) victory over Japan.
Luke Smith added 22 points for the winning side while Japan were led by
Haku Ri and
Issei Otake, who scored a team high of 16 points each.
Group 3
The first semi-final between Germany and Spain takes place at 22:00 GMT on Saturday in Leon, Mexico. The winners of that clash will face either Mexico or Estonia, whose semi-final starts two and a half hours later. The final will take place on Sunday.
Top Scorer by Day
32 - Chuan Jiang of China v Turkey on June 2
29 - Tsvetan Sokolov of Bulgaria v Argentina on June 3
28 - Metin Toy of Turkey v Netherlands on June 4
17 - Urpo Sivula of Finland v Slovakia on June 8 (only two
matches)
27 - Maxim Michshenko of Kazakhstan v Tunisia on June 9
25 - Hamza Nagga of Tunisia v Chinese Taipei on June 10
31 – Giulio Sabbi of Italy v Russia on June 11
27 – Paul Carroll of Australia v Japan on June 16
Top Scoring Performances
32 - Chuan Jiang of China v Turkey on June 2
31 – Giulio Sabbi of Italy v Russia on June 11
29 - Tsvetan Sokolov of Bulgaria v Argentina on June 3
29 - Nathan Roberts of Australia v Portugal on June 2
28 - Metin Toy of Turkey v Netherlands on June 4
27 - Maxim Michshenko of Kazakhstan v Tunisia on June 9
27 - Evandro Guerra of Brazil v Iran on June 3
27 – Paul Carroll of Australia v Japan on June 16
Top Individual Serving Performances
7 - Ahmed Abdelhay of Egypt v Czech Republic on June 9
6 – Thibault Rossard of France v Italay on June 16
6 - Valdir Sequeirq of Portugal v Finland on June 16
6 - Pedro Rangel of Mexico v Greece on June 3
6 - Maxim Zhigalov of Russia v Argentina on June 2
5 - Masahiro Yanagida of Japan v Slovenia on June 10
5 - Rafail Koumentakis of Greece v Spain on June 4
Top Team Serving Performances
14 – Portugal v Finland on June 16
12 – Italy v Russia on June 11
12 - Egypt v Czech Republic on June 9
12 - Turkey v Netherlands on June 4
11 – France v Italy on June 16
11 - Serbia v USA on June 2
10 – Canada v Belgium on June 16
10 - Venezuela v Kazakhstan on June 3
9 – Italy v France on June 16
9 - Canada v Serbia on June 4
9 - Serbia v Canada on June 4
9 - Belgium v USA on June 4
9 - USA v Canada on June 3
Top Individual Blocking Performances
9 - Peter Ondrovic of Slovakia v China on June 10
7 - Graham Vigrass of Canada v Bulgaria on June 10
7 - Nikolay Nikolov of Bulgaria v Canada on June 10
7- Simon Van De Voorde of Belgium v Argentina on June 10
7 - Samuel Walker of Australia v Slovakia on June 3
7 - Bozidar Cuk of Montenegro v Tunisia on June 2
6 – Matteo Piano of Italy v France on June 16
6 - Hamza Nagga of Tunisia v Montenegro on June 11
6 – Ardo Kreek of Estonia v Greece on June 11
6 - Denis Biriukov of Russia v Bulgaria on June 4
6 - Emerson Gonzalez of Venezuela v Kazakhstan on June 3
6 - Filip Cveticanin of Portugal v Japan on June 3
6 - Ales Holubec of Czech Republic v Finland on June 3
6 - Alen Pajenk of Slovenia v Korea on June 3
Top Team Blocking Performances
21 – Qatar v Venezuela on June 11
21 - Slovakia v China on June 10
21 - Slovenia v Korea on June 3
21 - Montenegro v Tunisia on June 2
18 – Tunisia v Montenegro on June 11
18 - Russia v Bulgaria on June 4
18 - Australia v Slovakia on June 3
18 - Czech Republic v Finland on June 3
17 – Italy v France on June 16
17 - Russia v France on June 3
Highest Scoring Sets
45-43 – Qatar v Venezuela on June 11
43-41 – China v Turkey on June 16
39-37 – Slovakia v Egypt on June 16
33-31 – Italy v Russia on June 11
30-28 – Argentina v Serbia on June 16
30-28 – USA v Iran on June 15
30-28 - Kazakhstan v Tunisia on June 9
30-28 - Slovakia v Australia on June 3
30-28 - Canada v Bulgaria on June 10
29-27 – Australia v Japan on June 16
29-27 – Spain v Austria on June 11
29-27 – Iran v Argentina on June 11
29-27 – Venezuela v Qatar on June 11
29-27 - Qatar v Greece on June 10
29-27 - China v Netherlands on June 3
28-26 – Turkey v Slovenia on June 11
28-26 - Germany v Spain on June 10
28-26 - Belgium v USA on June 4
27-25 – Poland v Canada on June 11
27-25 - Japan v Turkey on June 9
27-25 - Bulgaria v Russia on June 4
27-25 - Mexico v Qatar on June 4
27-25 - France v Argentina on June 4
27-25 - Netherlands v Egypt on June 2
27-25 - Tunisia v Montenegro on June 2
27-25 - Netherlands v Egypt on June 2
27-25 - Slovakia v Japan on June 2
Highest Scoring Matches
231 – Italy v Russia 2-3 (33-31, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 10-15) on
June 11
223 – Serbia v Argentina 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 28-30, 15-12)
on June 16
223 – Qatar v Venezuela 3-1 (27-29, 25-16, 45-43, 25-13) on June
11
222 - Korea v Czech Republic 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 24-26, 25-20,
15-12) on June 2
220 – Iran v Argentina 3-2 (29-25, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25,15-11) on
June 11
220 - Turkey v Netherlands 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 24-26, 17-15)
on June 4
219 – Australia v Japan 3-2 (29-27, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-9) on
June 16
219 - Czech Republic v Egypt 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23,
16-14) on June 9
219 - Korea v Finland 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 15-13) on
June 4
219 - Australia v Portugal 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-18, 22-25, 20-18)
on June 2
217 - Belgium v Canada 2-3 (22-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-23, 13-15) on
June 2
215 - Turkey v China 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 15-12) on
June 2
214 - Bulgaria v Argentina 2-3 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 12-15)
on June 3
212 - Belgium v Argentina 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 15-6)
on June 10