VNL 2021: All results of June 3

In first match of the the fourth round of the Volleyball Nations League, Argentina down Germany and they did it after making a comeback, taking the last two sets 3-2 (25:19, 23:25, 17:25, 25:23, 15:13).
Federico Pereyra was the top scorer of the game with 22 points, while Jan Martinez also contributed with 19. In Germany, Tobias Krick ended the game with 15 points.

Jan Zimmermann (GER): “I think we didn’t start this game well. We had some problems at the beginning to really push. We were fighting until the end. In my opinion, in the end we had a really big battle and many really long rallies. We had several opportunities at the end of the fourth set, we should have defended some more balls to win this match in the fourth set. In the fifth set it was a big fight. They won two points with a block, maybe we should have done better then. In games like this one, losing in the fifth set is tough. It’s losing by two points – it’s sometimes one ace here or one ace there.”

Luciano De Cecco (ARG): “We played much better than in the first matches. Maybe because with more teammates, it’s easier to practise and it gives some mental comfort. With them it’s also easier to make some changes in our six, and to rest. We are really happy that they have now joined the team. It’s more energy in the team, a new mentality, and we will do our best to show thaton the court and win the games. Today we played really well. We had good reception, our opposite performed very well. We are now going to rest and come back tomorrow to have a big fight with Slovenia.”

Iran have also scored the victory. They beat Canada in four sets 3-1 (22:25, 25:22, 25:22, 25:22).
Saber Kazemi was the best scorer in Iran with 17, while Seyed Mousavi added 16 points. For Canada, Joseph Sclater had 17 points.

Ryan Sclater (Canada): “I feel that we didn’t find the right way to keep a good answer and confidence in some difficult situations. Iran were playing really well, but we didn’t take the challenge and make adjustments to win this game. You always have to be prepared that Iran will play with Marouf. He is a great player. Their offence is really on high level when he is playing. It’s really important for us to not be separated from each other after difficult points, always coming to each other and talking about what we need to improve.”

Saeid Marouf (Iran): “It was my first game at the VNL today, so I am happy that I started with a victory. It’s a long and tough tournament, but now we are happy that we beat Canada, because we are in the same pool at the Olympic Games, so it was important for us. I’m very happy about the performance of my team, all players performed very well. We have many new players in the team and day by day we play better.”

Serbia handed Japan their first defeat of the competition after blocking their opponents 17 times and coming back from a set down (to finish the match in four).

Shimizu Kunihiro (Japan): “We couldn’t get out of the sideout. We also couldn’t see our advantages in this game and we struggled in attack. We always try to win, but we were not able to stop the Serbian attack, especially their outside hitter Uros Kovacevic. Normally our attackers use the block to get a point, but in this match our pipe didn’t work so well and it was one the reasons why we couldn’t win this game.”

Uros Kovacevic (Serbia): “All the time we start the game not in the best way. We lost the first set easily and then we knew that we had to win, we had to push. Basically, I want to congratulate the team of Japan, they gave us a great battle here and of course congratulations to my team, because we gave it all until the end. It’s a very important victory for us and what is our goal, so I’m very proud and happy.”

France is now the only undefeated team in the competition, after beating Brazil in a thrilling straight sets (37:39, 18:25, 28:30).
The first set delivered a stunning drama as the winners had to play 76 rallies to win this part of the game. Also, the third one was a breathtaking one and again the French side was more successful than Brazil. Jean Patry was the best scorer of the game with 20 points.

Bruno Rezende (Brazil): “It was so close – the match, the first set… In the first set we had our chances, but we didn’t take them – some counter-attacks, some side-outs and they defended really well. They deserved to win. Now we have to just focus on the next match. The VNL is like this. We are in the process and we just have to trust the process. We have a lot to improve, so we have to focus on preparations and the next match.”

Benjamin Toniutti (France): “It was a tight one. It’s difficult to win against Brazil easily, they are a really awesome team. We didn’t start the game really good, but step by step we came inside the game and it was a really tough first set – we went to 39. I think we played a good game. We can still improve, but we have to continue this way, because we have a lot of rotations in the squad. Many players played only one game so far, so now we have to focus on the next match.”

Competition rookies Slovenia grabbed their third win in four matches at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League shutting out the Netherlands to advance amongst the leaders of the standings.
Rok Mozic has outshined Nimir Abdelaziz (15 points) with a better scoring performance in this match.

Wessel Keemink (The Netherlands): “Slovenia played great and I think we hesitated a little bit. We were not scared or afraid, but were waiting for them and they made some very good actions. They put some pressure with their serve and we didn’t – and it’s what made the biggest difference. In this game they were better, because they played good and we have to do it better. We have to enjoy the game a little bit more. We were a bit too tense, because we wanted to do things better – it’s good, but we also should enjoy it a little bit better.”

Rok Mozic (Slovenia): “I’m very happy that we played so well. Amazing victory. I’m happy that the coach gave me a chance to play. It was my first game at the VNL and I’m very glad that I played well and that we won in straight sets. It’s our third victory in four games, but tomorrow in the morning there is a new game against Argentina and we are now already focused on that.”

Poland destroyed Australia in three sets with some huge blocking and serving for their third win. Lukasz Kaczmarek was the top scorer of the game with 17 points.
The players of Australia had really poor performances as they scored 22 points, according to the FIVB stats.

Arshdeep Dosanjh (Australia): “I think it was a very difficult game. The positive thing that we can take out of this – it shows us where we need to be and how hard we have to work to be like one of the best teams in the world. So there are a lot of things to improve on. We were not aggressive enough, playing against teams like Poland you have to take chances, because if you give away easy chances, they will give it back ten times harder.”

Lukasz Kaczmarek (Poland): “We cannot say that it was an easy win, because in the third set we didn’t start well, but in general we played a good game – we started well, our block and defence were very good, we played amazing in block, but especially our service was key. We were pushing them with the service and then it as easy to play. We know that it was theoretically easier to play against Australia, than against our next opponents – USA and Russia. We have a heavy week and very strong opponents, so we are happy that we won easily with Australia and now we can prepare for the next matches.”

Italy claimed their first victory of the competition after outlasting Bulgaria in a five-set marathon (25:19, 20:25, 25:13, 23:25, 15:12) at the close of Day 4.

Radoslav Parapunov (Bulgaria): “To be honest, I think that in this fifth set I made some unforced errors in situations which I wasn’t supposed to. I’m in the position that I have to take care of bad sets or bad moments – it’s my job. I don’t think that I did this in the most important moments. I’m happy to be on the court – it was a positive thing, a lot of people got a chance to come here and show what they can do and everybody participated. It was my first official game in the starting six, so there were a lot of emotions. It feels amazing. I’m thankful that I got a chance, I wish it was a win, but life is life, sport is sport.”

Alessandro Michieletto (Italy): “I’m really happy with this win, as it’s our first victory at the VNL. I think we are on the right track, but we have to keep going. Tomorrow we expect a big battle against Iran, but I think we are ready for it.”

Russia bounced back from their latest defeat last week to take down USA in four sets in a rematch of the 2019 final. It was USA’s second defeat, but Russia advance to 3-1.

Micah Christenson (USA): “We started to play our game in the third set. In the first two sets we let them get away from us a little bit and once you play from behind with Russia, it’s a little hard. We knew that they had an incredible and deep roster, so they made some changes and they didn’t lose any level or even improved their level. We made some changes as well and improved the level, so we are taking this opportunity to learn and I think we got better tonight, but it was not enough to get victory.”

Maxim Mikhaylov (Russia): “The most important thing is that we won. It is very important for us. We were well-prepared, we knew that the USA will play well, no matter who will be on the court. Also we lost the last match, so we were even more motivated. In the third set we lost concentration and some players thought that we already won this match, but the USA are a good team, therefore they used this chance to win a set.”

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)
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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)

👉🏼 STANDINGS: France 11, Russia 10, Poland 9, Slovenia 9, Brazil 9, Serbia 9, Japan 7, Germany 7, USA 6, Iran 6, Bulgaria 5, Canada 3, Italy 2, Argentina 2, The Netherlands 1, Australia 0.
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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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