Best Players - France stars Boyer and Lyneel shine again in week two of World League

Lausanne, Switzerland, June 12, 2017 - Six wins from six matches, 18 points – France’s record after two Preliminary Round weekends of this year’s FIVB Volleyball World League is nothing short of outstanding. The French have two players in particular to thank for their success: 20-year-old Stephen Boyer, one of the game’s rising stars, is the top scorer in the 36-team competition with 106 points, while his average of 0.55 makes him the best server in Group 1.

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Julien Lyneel tops the list of the most effective spikers among the top twelve teams with a success rate of 58.89 per cent. Incidentally, Boyer ranks as high as sixth in this statistic too.

Thanks to their stars, France have already qualified for the Final Round, which features the top six teams and takes place in the Brazilian city of Curitiba (July 4-8), with the final weekend of Preliminary Round matches still to come.

Julien Lyneel celebrated this achievement accordingly on Facebook.



France seem well set to repeat the sensational success they achieved in the 2015 FIVB World League. Back then, Earvin Ngapeth was the stand-out performer and MVP. He is currently recovering from an injury, but will return to strengthen the resolve of the French stars at the Final Six. 

“I think we can do everything with this team," Ngapeth said. "We can win everything. We have a family-like atmosphere in our group.”

Hosts Brazil are also guaranteed a place in the final round. The Olympic champions, who have their sights set on a historic tenth FIVB World League title this year, lead the way in two statistics following the second weekend of matches. Libero Thales Hoss is the best receiver, with an efficiency rating of 62.28 per cent, followed by his team-mate Mauricio Borges (59.76). And superstar Bruninho Rezende is the top setter, pulling the strings with the same aplomb he showed during the Brazilian team’s Olympic campaign. However, he is still not entirely happy – particularly following the 1-3 defeat to Bulgaria.



Tsvetan Sokolov guided the Bulgarians to victory with 17 points. With 100 points to his name, he is the second highest scorer in Group 1. Bulgaria also boasts the best blocker in the top group, in the form of Nikolay Nikolov. Giulio Sabbi set a new record for the most points scored in one Group 1 match: he scored 31 points on Sunday, but was still unable to prevent his team losing 2:3 to Russia. 

In Group 2, the race to qualify for the Final Four, on the Gold Coast of Australia on June 24 and 25, is heading towards an exciting climax. Nine teams could still snatch one of the remaining three tickets to the final round, where they would join Australia, who qualify automatically as hosts. Based on statistics and the most successful players to this point, two teams have particularly good chances: Japan and the Netherlands. Both teams top three lists. The Dutch have the top scorer in Group 2 in their ranks, in the form of Wouter Ter Maat (101 points). He is also a remarkable second in the list of best diggers – behind team-mate Dirk Sparidans. The best receiver of all 36 teams is Robbert Andringa, who has effectively completed 66.19 per cent.

In Masahiro Yanagida, Japan have the top spiker and best server of the twelve teams in Group 2.

Japan’s coach Yuichi Nakagaich was keen to highlight the importance of his top star after the 3-0 victory over South Korea: “I was very satisfied with Yanagida's performance on service and service reception. Yanagida played well from the start.” Naonobu Fujii, the top setter in the second ‘division’, also comes from the land of the rising sun.



In Group 3, the original twelve teams have now been whittled down to just four, who will contest the Final Round this weekend in Leon, Mexico. Hosts Mexico are the only team to top the ranking list in two statistics. Jorge Barajas is the top receiver, while team-mate Pedro Rangel is the best server. With an average by set of 0.61, he is also the top dog among all 36 teams in the 2017 FIVB World League. Estonia travel to the Final Four with the best blocker among their ranks: Ardo Kreek. Hot favourites Germany do not top any of the statistics. However, opposite Simon Hirsch finds himself in the top five in three lists – best server, best blocker and best scorer. Top scorer in Group 3 in the Preliminary Round was Tunisia’s Hamza Nagga with 104 points.

Best Scorers Group 1:



Best Scorers Group 2:



Best Scorers Group 3:



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

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

Top Individual Serving Performances
7 - Ahmed Abdelhay of Egypt v Czech Republic on June 9
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
4 – Cristian Poglajen of Argentina v Iran on June 11
4 – Wouter Ter Maat of Netherlands v Egypt on June 11
4 – Menelaos Kokkinakis of Greece v Estonia on June 11
4 – Egor Feoktistov of Russia v Italy on June 11
4 – Dmitriy Volkov of Russia v Italy on June 11
4 – Iacopo Botto of Italy v Russia on June 11
4 - Pedro Rangel of Mexico v Austria on June 10
4 - Aleksandr Minic of Montenegro v Kazakhstan on June 10
4 - Klemen Cebulj of Slovenia v Japan on June 10
4 - Sergey Antipkin of Russia v France on June 9
4 - Farhad Ghaemi of Iran v Belgium on June 9
4 - John Gordon Perrin of Canada v Brazil on June 9
4 - Lincoln Alexander Williams of Australia v Slovakia on June 9
4 - Nicolai Grabmueller of Austria v Kazakhstan on June 4
4 - John Gordon Perrin of Canada v USA on June 3
4 - Bartlomiej Lemanski of Poland v Italy on June 3
4 - Marko Ivovic of Serbia v USA on June 2

Top Team Serving Performances
12 – Italy v Russia on June 11
12 - Egypt v Czech Republic on June 9
12 - Turkey v Netherlands on June 4
11 - Serbia v USA on June 2
10 - Venezuela v Kazakhstan on June 3
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 - 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 - Russia v France on June 3

Highest Scoring Sets
45-43 – Qatar v Venezuela on June 11
33-31 – Italy v Russia on June 11
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 – 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 – 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 - 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