VNL 2021: All results of May 30

Led by Jean Patry with 17 points and Kevin Tillie who also contributed with 16, France claimed their third victory in as many games against Australia 3-1 (28:26, 20:25, 25:14, 25:23).

Graham Beau (AUS): “It was a very fierce one. I think we did a really good job fighting against France. We have many young guys in the team and I think it’s a really great experience to play against good teams like France, but we had a good fight. We are going step by step, we are improving game by game, we are getting there. Now we have lost three games in a row, but for us I am really proud. We have to keep working on our service pressure, but our block system is getting better and better.”

Jean Patry (FRA): “It was a difficult match, but we knew that today we were playing early at 10, so it wouldn’t be easy for us. But I’m happy because I think we played well and we started the tournament with three victories. I tried to work well with the setter to find our rhythm. It’s only the second week since we started to train together again, so I’m happy that it has worked so well so far and that I scored many points.”

In their third game of the VNL, Iran achieved first victory in the competition. They defeated the Netherlands by 3-0 (25:18, 25:23, 30:28). Amir Hossein Esfandiar was Iran top scorer with 14 points, Meisam Salehi added 12 and Seyed Mousavi 11 points. Nimir Abdel-Aziz was the top scorer for the Netherlands with 11 points.

Nimir Abdel-Aziz (The Netherlands): “It’s normal that we have changed a little bit our starting six, because it’s a very long tournament where we have to play 15 games, so it’s impossible to always play with the same players. We are here to learn, so we have to give a chance to every player to play and to improve and to see how it is to compete at this level, so it’s why we started with a different line-up today. We had a chance to win the third set, but we didn’t use it. But it was another learning day. I’m happy that after yesterday’s game when we started good and at the end we didn’t play good as a team, today we didn’t give up even for a moment. It’s a shame that we didn’t take the third set.”

Seyed Mousavi (Iran): “We knew that the Netherlands are a good team and at the VNL there are no weaker opponents. We have to give our maximum and push to gain victory. We fought until the end for our country. With our National Team we always want to win big matches and fight hard for every point, like in this match. I’m happy about this victory. Our fighting spirit was a key to success. We struggled in reception and also in attack. In the first two sets we served very well and we managed to put the ball far from our opponent’s setter and we played fast, but in the last set we stopped serving and it was a problem.”

Germany defeats Bulgaria in a five-set battle for their second victory in the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, leaving the rivals with a 1-2 record after the first week of play.

Tsvetan Sokolov (Bulgaria): “We had our chances, but we didn’t use them all. I think we had many opportunities, but we were not making the right decisions in attack and in other elements. In important moments we made mistakes which you cannot do playing against teams like Germany. We need to recover and practice to prepare ourselves for next matches in Week 2.”

Tobias Krick (Germany): “It was a close game. Bulgaria played really well, but we never gave up. They saved two match points, but we kept pushing and pushing on them, then we made some good defence and blocks to eventually win the game. We sometimes missing experience to make the final points. We have a great team, many young guys – mostly 22-23 years old – and we try our best, because we are underdogs in almost every game. We have a good team spirit and today we showed some good volleyball.”

Japan caused an amazing sensation at the competition with a spectacular 3-2 win over defending champions Russia.

Tuomas Sammelvuo (Russia head coach): “We had to close this game. We were leading and controlling the game, that’s simple, but we didn’t use our opportunities. Japan defend a lot of balls, the ball doesn’t hit the floor easily and they have good reception. So if you lose the patience and you get nervous even for two minutes, it ends like this. Also in our attack we had one-by-one situations and even without blocks, but the ball didn’t touch the court. It’s a game of moments. Two or three minutes and the result might be different, but it’s a good lesson.”

Philippe Blain (Japan coach): “I’m proud of our players, because we came here to gain experience. We came here to fight for every point and not only look at the result – just try to increase our level of our standing and they did perfectly – especially defence, coverage. They are shorter than the Russians. Playing against great teams like here let us gain important experience, especially ahead of the Olympic Games. We didn’t come here with a specific goal to win. We want to take the maximum experience and win the maximum number of matches and enjoy volleyball, because enjoying volleyball is also important, and that we did tonight.”

USA survived a first-set and came back to defeat Argentina in four, redeeming after the previous night’s defeat to Brazil.

Martin Ramos (Argentina): “I think we started to feel tired, because we came here only with nine players. It’s not an excuse, but it’s reality. We lost today, but we have to grow. This week six additional players arrive in Rimini, so I think we will get better in the next games.”

Torey Defalco (USA): “I think we battled well. Argentina are a very good team. They pass really well, they play good defence and have a very good fast offence. As soon as we got service pressure and block-defence working it turned out better for us. I think we had a good start at the VNL. First start after a year and half, so I’m really happy with our first three games, of course there are some things we can work on and we will improve it.”

Brazil retained their undefeated status and remain on full points, despite they dropped their first set of the competition to Canada and then struggled to avoid a tie-break.

Nicholas Hoag (Canada): “In the first two sets we couldn’t pick up our game. It was very difficult, because Brazil were serving very well and they are a team that doesn’t make many mistakes, so it’s really hard to play against them. If you make mistakes you are going to lose. After the second set we really played well. In the end small details made the difference.”

Douglas Souza (Brazil): “It was great to see the strength of the group. Playing matches like this one is important as it helps to increase the game. It’s important to start the VNL with three victories and now we have to improve ahead of the next games. We have three days to rest now and to work on all our systems.”

Slovenia stuned reigning world champions Poland in a four sets win that brings the rookies up amongst the top teams of the competition on a 2-1 record.

Aleksander Sliwka (Poland): “It was a tough match for us. They were pushing on serve and I think that made a difference tonight, because we were suffering in reception. We were close in the fourth set, it was a tough ending of the set, but maybe we lacked a little bit of luck, maybe one ball could turn it around. In three days we play another game, so we have to work hard and prove that we are strong.”

Jan Kozamernik (Slovenia): “It’s amazing, I really enjoyed this match. It was tough. We expected that they would fight until the end, but we kept pushing and in the end we managed to win, so I’m really happy and proud of the guys, because we managed to pull this through and that we withstood the pressure. I think we showed character tonight and this is important in the VNL, so I hope we will keep it for next matches.”

In the last match of the day (and of the first weekend of play), Serbia back to the victory, following their defeat a night previously to Poland, with a victory over hosts Italy, still winless.

Giulio Pinali (Italy): “We played a really good match. We stayed close, even if it was difficult. We played as much as we could. We are happy that we managed to win a set, but we still need to improve ahead of the next games. We are a young team, now we have three days without matches and we will try to work on our game.”

Nikola Jovovic (Serbia): “I have to congratulate the team of Italy, because they played a good game, they are a tough team and they play better and better. They were changing players so it was difficult to play against them especially in the first set. We were also modifying our squad. Our main scorer and attacker got injured, so it’s a difficult situation for us. We are trying to substitute them and yesterday it was not enough, but today we won.”

FIVB VNL 2021 – Results & Program

May 28, 2021 –
France – Bulgaria 3-0 (27:25, 25:21, 25:23)
Germany – Australia 3-0 (25:19, 25:18, 25:16)
Japan – Iran 3-0 (25:19, 25:22, 26:24)
Serbia – Slovenia 3-1 (22:25, 25:18, 36:34, 25:18)
The Netherlands – Russia 1-3 (19:25, 22:25, 25:18, 20:25)
USA – Canada 3-0 (25:17, 26:24, 25:20)
Poland – Italy 3-0 (25:19, 25:20, 25:18)
Brazil – Argentina 3-0 (31:29, 26:24, 25:16)
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May 29, 2021 –
Germany – France 2-3 (25:22, 22:25, 25:22, 16:25, 15:17)
Iran – Russia 1-3 (17:25, 25:20, 20:25, 17:25)
The Netherlands – Japan 2-3 (25:22, 25:23, 22:25, 17:25, 8:15)
Australia – Bulgaria 0:3 (21:25, 20:25, 20:25)
Poland – Serbia 3-1 (26:24, 25:19, 21:25, 25:15)
Italy – Slovenia 0-3 (23:25, 19:25, 15:25)
Argentina – Canada 0-3 (17:25, 21:25, 17:25)
USA – Brazil 0-3 (22:25, 23:25, 19:25)
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👉🏼 May 30, 2021 –
Australia – France 1-3 (26:28, 25:20, 14:25, 23:25)
The Netherlands – Iran 0-3 (18:25 23:25, 28:30)
Germany – Bulgaria 3-2 (19:25, 25:21, 22:25, 30:28, 15:11)
Russia – Japan 2-3 (26:28, 28:26, 25:20, 21:25, 14:16)
USA – Argentina 3-1 (23:25, 25:21, 25:15, 25:19)
Canada – Brazil 1-3 (17:25, 20:25, 25:22, 25:27)
Poland – Slovenia 1-3 (22:25, 25:23, 19:25, 23:25)
Serbia – Italy 3-1 (25:23, 22:25, 25:22, 25:18)

👉🏼 Standings: Brazil 9, France 8, Japan 7, Russia 7, Poland 6, Slovenia 6, Germany 6, USA 6, Serbia 6, Bulgaria 4, Iran 3, Canada 3, The Netherlands 1, Italy 0, Argentina 0, Australia 0.
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June 3, 2021 –
Germany – Argentina 2-3 (19:25, 25:23, 25:17, 23:25, 13:15)
Iran – Canada 3-1 (22:25, 25:22, 25:22, 25:22)
Japan – Serbia 1-3 (25:18, 23:25, 22:25, 13:25)
Brazil – France 0-3 (37:39, 18:25, 28:30)
The Netherlands – Slovenia 0-3 (18:25, 15:25, 18:25)
Australia – Poland 0-3 (16:25, 10:25, 12:25)
Italy – Bulgaria 3-2 (25:19, 20:25, 25:13, 23:25, 15:12)
Russia – USA 3-1 (25:22, 25:19, 17:25, 25:19)
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June 4, 2021 –
Argentina – Slovenia 0-3 (19:25, 22:25, 18:25)
The Netherlands – Germany 3-2 (25:18, 23:25, 25:20, 23:25, 15:13)
Brazil – Japan 3-0 (25:20, 25:16, 25:20)
Serbia – France 3-2 (22:25, 24:26, 25:22, 25:23, 15:9)
Iran – Italy 3-1 (26:24, 29:27, 21:25, 25:22)
Poland – USA 3-0 (25:17, 28:26, 25:17)
Russia – Australia 3-0 (25:19, 26:24, 25:21)
Canada – Bulgaria 3-0 (28:26, 25:23, 25:16)
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June 5, 2021 –
The Netherlands – Argentina 0-3 (19:25, 20:25, 23:25)
Slovenia – Germany 1-3 (25:19, 20:25, 21:25, 20:25)
France – Japan 3-2 (21:25, 25:22, 24:26, 25:21, 15:11)
Brazil – Serbia 3-1 (23:25, 25:23, 25:15, 25:22)
Russia – Poland 1-3 (25:21, 19:25, 19:25, 14:25)
USA – Australia 3-0 (25:23, 25:20, 25:17)
Bulgaria – Iran 0-3 (20:25, 31:33, 22:25)
Canada – Italy 2-3 (19:25, 21:25, 25:21, 28:26, 11:15)
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June 9, 2021 –
Serbia – Germany 3-1 (19:25, 25:22, 25:18, 25:15)
Japan – Australia 3-1 (25:18, 21:25, 28:26, 26:24)
France – Russia 3-1 (22:25, 25:18, 30:28, 25:19)
Slovenia – Canada 3-0 (25:22, 25:19, 25:22)
Argentina – Italy 0-3 (28:30, 21:25, 20:25)
Iran – USA 3-0 (25:19, 25-23, 25:23)
Poland – Bulgaria 3-0 (25:19, 25:15, 25:12)
The Netherlands – Brazil 0-3 (19:25, 22:25, 25:27)
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June 10, 2021 –
Serbia – Iran 3-2 (21:25, 25:15, 26:28, 25:22, 15:8)
Russia – Canada 3-1 (25:18, 25:18, 23:25, 25:23)
France – Slovenia 2-3 (25:17, 25:19, 23:25, 19:25, 9:15)
Argentina – Australia 3-0 (25:18, 25:19, 25:20)
Germany – USA 0-3 (12:25, 18:25, 27:29)
Bulgaria – Brazil 0-3 (16:25, 22:25, 12:25)
Japan – Italy 3-2 (21:25, 25:22, 22:25, 25:19, 15:9)
Poland – The Netherlands 3-0 (25:14, 25:17, 25:16)
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June 11, 2021 –
Iran – Germany 2-3 (25:23, 20:25, 19:25, 25:19, 13:15)
Slovenia – Russia 3-2 (19:25, 25:23, 22:25, 25:20, 15:8)
Japan – Argentina 1-3 (32:30, 16:25, 18:25, 21:25)
The Netherlands – Bulgaria 2-3 (18:25, 25:18, 25:17, 22:25, 13:15)
Australia – Italy 0-3 (20:25, 22:25, 14:25)
USA – Serbia 1-3 (23:25, 17:25, 25:19, 25:27)
Canada – France 1-3 (25:20, 21:25, 22:25, 17:25)
Poland – Brazil 0-3 (17:25, 26:28, 19:25)
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June 15, 2021 –
Russia – Serbia 3-1 (25:23, 25:22, 22:25, 25:21)
Iran – Australia 2-3 (23,25, 22:25, 25:23, 25:18, 12:15)
Argentina – Bulgaria 3-1 (25:20, 16:25, 25:18, 25:18)
Japan – Germany 3-0 (25:18, 25:22, 25:20)
Italy – USA 0-3 (15:25, 18:25, 21:25)
Canada – Poland 0-3 (22:25, 23:25, 19:25)
Brazil – Slovenia 3-2 (15:25, 25:22, 19:25, 25:13, 15:12)
The Netherlands – France 3-2 (15:25, 22:25, 28:26, 25:23, 19:17)
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June 16, 2021 –
Argentina – Russia 1-3 (19:25, 23:25, 25:21, 19:25)
Serbia – Bulgaria 3-0 (25:20, 25:17, 25:17)
Slovenia – Australia 3-1 (18:25, 25:18, 25:18, 25:17)
Japan – Poland 0-3 (14:25, 18:25, 19:25)
The Netherlands – Italy 1-3 (19:25, 23:25, 25:23, 21:25)
Canada – Germany 3-0 (25:17, 26:24, 25:21)
USA – France 1-3 (23:25, 25:22, 29:31, 22:25)
Iran – Brazil 1-3 (19:25, 25:23, 19:25, 21:25)
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June 17, 2021 –
Argentina – Serbia 3-0 (27:25, 25:20, 26:24)
Bulgaria – Russia 0-3 (17:25, 22:25, 17:25)
Japan – Canada 0-3 (22:25, 23:25, 18:25)
Australia – Brazil 0-3 (17:25, 22:25, 12:25)
Iran – Slovenia 1-3 (25:14, 20:25, 19:25, 30:32)
The Netherlands – USA 2-3 (25:21, 17:25, 25:23, 15:25, 13:15)
France – Italy 2-3 (19:25, 25:22, 20:25, 25:21, 12:15)
Germany – Poland 0-3 (22:25, 19:25, 20:25)
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June 21, 2021 –
Australia – Serbia 1-3 (16:25, 13:25, 25:19, 15:25)
Japan – Bulgaria 3-0 (25:23, 25:18, 25:14)
France – Iran 3-0 (25:21, 25:21, 25:19)
Canada – The Netherlands 3-0 (25:16, 25:16, 25:19)
Brazil – Italy 3-1 (25:19, 32:30, 22:25, 25:20)
Slovenia – USA 3-2 (28:30, 25:19, 21:25, 28:26, 15:13)
Poland – Argentina 3-0 (25:21, 25:22, 25:18)
Germany – Russia 1-3 (18:25, 18:25, 25:23, 15:25)
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June 22, 2021 –
Canada – Australia 3-0 (25:17, 25:8, 25:20)
Serbia – The Netherlands 3-2 (25:21, 21:25, 25:18, 21:25, 17:15)
Bulgaria – USA 0-3 (19:25, 24:26, 9:25)
Iran – Poland 0-3 (20:25, 20:25, 16:25)
Japan – Slovenia 0-3 (16:25, 16:25, 26:28)
France – Argentina 3-0 (26:24, 25:21, 25:22)
Brazil – Germany 3-0 (25:21, 25:21, 25:23)
Russia – Italy 3-2 (25:21, 16:25, 25:17, 19:25, 15:12)
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June 23, 2021 –
Australia – The Netherlands 0-3 (23:25, 19:25, 19:25)
Canada – Serbia 3-2 (17:25, 21:25, 25:17, 25:20, 17:15)
USA – Japan 3-0 (25:21, 25:23, 25:20)
France – Poland 3-2 (25:22, 21:25, 22:25, 25:20, 15:11)
Iran – Argentina 1-3 (31:33, 23:25, 32:30, 18:25)
Slovenia – Bulgaria 3-0 (25:23, 25:16, 25:18)
Italy – Germany 3-2 (25:12, 24:26, 25:22, 21:25, 15:13)
Brazil – Russia 0-3 (21:25, 26:28, 20:25)
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June 26, 2021 –
Semifinal 1: Brazil – France 3-0 (25:20, 25:18, 25:19)
Semifinal 2: Poland – Slovenia 3-0 (25:22, 25:21, 25:23)
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June 27, 2021 –
Final 3/4: France – Slovenia 3-0 (25:20, 25:18, 25:19)
Final 1/2: Brazil – Poland 3-1 (22:25, 25:23, 25:16, 25:14)
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