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Volleyball 12/06/2017

World League - Day 7: Boyer sends France to Group 1 Finals as Group 3 finalists confirmed

France's young star Stephen Boyer becomes the top scorer in Group 1, after guiding his team to win six matches in a row in the FIVB Volleyball World League

Lausanne, Switzerland, June 11, 2017 – France’s rising star Stephen Boyer helped secure the spot in the FIVB Volleyball World League Final 6 in Curitiba, following their 3-1 win over the United States in the Group 1 competition in Pau on Sunday.

Boyer emerged as the top scorer in Group 1, after collecting 106 points in six matches. He led France in scoring in five occasions – twice on the opening weekend in Kazan, and in all home matches in Pau.

Boyer only had nine points against Bulgaria, but began to step up in scoring in their match against Russia on June 3, when he notched 18 points. He improved his scoring further and tallied 20 markers against Argentina on June 4. The 21-year old delighted the home crowd when he scored 20 points each against Russia on Friday and Italy on Saturday. He ensured France’s spot in the Final Six with a 19-point performance against USA on Sunday.

France is still the only unbeaten team in the entire World League, as the win over the United States gave them six wins in a row. They are the first from Group 1 to have qualified for the Final Six in Curitiba, Brazil. The top six in Group 1 right now are France with 18 points, Serbia with 15, Brazil with 13, Belgium with 10, Poland with nine, and Bulgaria with eight points. Every team in Group 1 will go into the final weekend with a chance to qualify for the Final Six, as the bottom two teams – Italy and Argentina – are just four points behind Bulgaria and five behind Poland.

Group 2 is also very tight, as Slovenia is on top with 15 points, but just three points behind are the Netherlands, Slovakia and Japan. Australia, the Group 2 final four hosts, are in fifth and only four points behind Slovenia. It will be a tense final weekend to determine which team goes to Gold Coast for the Group 2 final four.

The Group 3 final four in Leon, Mexico is set. As Group 3 final four hosts, Mexico automatically gets a spot in the final four competition, together with Germany, Spain and Estonia. Germany got in after defeating Mexico. Spain defeated Austria to qualify and eliminate their opponents, while in the process allowing Estonia to qualify for the Group 3 final four for the first time. They defeated Greece 3-2 in Tallinn and had to wait for the outcome of the Spain-Austria match to confirm their spot.

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Group 1

France are the only undefeated squad across all groups after six matches. The French completed their sweep of the second week after they defeated the United States in four sets. In the other match in Pau on Sunday, Russia endured Italy’s tough challenge to escape with a five-set victory.

Poland closed their second week campaign with a 3-1 win over Canada, and will come home to Katowice for the third week with a 3-3 win-loss card. Poland faced their former coach Stephane Antiga, who led them to win the 2014 World Championship. Antiga has steered Canada to only one win in Varna, but have led them to win twice in last week’s competition. Bulgaria recovered from their 3-1 loss on Saturday to Canada and beat Olympic champions Brazil in four sets.

Serbia swept all their matches in Tehran, following their straight-set win over Belgium to move up in second place in Group 1’s overall standing. Iran delighted their home crowd with a thrilling five-set win over Argentina. The Iranians have recorded two wins and one loss at home, while Argentina lost all their matches, which put them in last place among the 12 teams.

Group 1 competition will resume on June 15 with tournaments taking place in Katowice and Lodz (Poland), Antwerp (Belgium) and Cordoba (Argentina).

Group 2

Slovenia reclaimed the top spot in Group 2, followed by the Netherlands and Slovakia.

Slovenian stars Tine Urnaut and Klemen Cebulj delivered twin 22-point contributions to lead their team to a 3-1 win over Turkey. Slovenia finished the second week with two wins and one loss, but good enough to secure them the top spot with a total of five wins in six outings. In the all-Asian match-up at Takasaki, Japan denied their rivals Korea to gain any edge. Japan cruised to a straight-set win led by their stars Masahiro Yanagida and Yuki Ishikawa.

The Netherlands rallied from two sets down against Egypt to complete their sweep of their matches in Ceske Budejovice. Hosts Czech Republic came up with an easier finish of a straight-set win over Portugal. The hosts finished the second week with a 2-1 win-loss record.

Group 2 competition will resume on June 16. Next weekend’s fixtures will be held in Kunshan (China), Cairo (Egypt) and The Hague (Netherlands).

Group 3

Germany, Spain and Estonia occupied the top three spots in Group 3, to secure their spots in the final four. The three European squads completed the final four draw to join hosts Mexico.

In Linz, the match of Germany and Mexico was a straight-set affair. The Germans led Mexico on all fronts, particularly in blocks at 9-1 and aces 6-2. Spain got back on the winning track after being beaten by the Germans. Spain managed to contain hosts Austria, especially in third set where they were challenged well by their counterparts. Spain secured the two points in the third set to complete the straight-set win.

In the opening match in Group 3, Qatar came up with a well earned victory against Venezuela. After losing the first set to the South Americans, Qatar rallied to win the next three sets, but not as easy as they expected, as the third set went into a 45-43 marathon. Qatar prevailed in the match but lost the chance to progress to the final round with only three victories won so far in six matches. The next match at Tallinn also went into a tie-breaker, where hosts Estonia earned the victory over Greece. The Estonians blockers came up with 15 blocks to outplay the Greek spikers.

Chinese Taipei and Tunisia both finished the second week with the same win-loss card of 2-1, but Chinese Taipei gained better edge to take the top spot at Tunis with their 3-1 win over Kazakhstan. The host team needed the tie-break set to defeat Montenegro.

The Group 3 final four will start on June 17 in Leon, Mexico.

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 Argetnina 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

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