VNL 2021: all results of June 23

The Netherlands ended their 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League campaign with a victory against Australia 3-0 (25:23, 25:19, 25:19) led again by Nimir Abdel-Aziz, author of 17 points. The winners end the Preliminary Round of the competition with three wins, and Australia one.

Nimir Abdel-Aziz (NED): “It’s always nice to finish the tournament with victory, and we did it. Today is a nice last day. It was a game like every other, it was a bit difficult, the last match, the last day of the tournament. It was a long tournament, we played 15 games, so it was not easy, but we are happy that we won. Physically I feel not so well. In the last few days I had some problems with my ankle, but now I have some time to recover.”

Nehemiah Mote (AUS): “I’m disappointed that we couldn’t finish the tournament the way we wanted to, but I’m looking at the tournament and I’m very proud of everyone’s contribution – players, staff, coaches and statistician. Everyone put in so much effort. Now we have finished the tournament with no major injuries. So we will be looking forward to resting and we will prepare for the next tournament which is the Asian Championships.”

Canada stunned European champion in the last round of the preliminary stage of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League and ruined rival’s dreams of qualifying to the Final Four.
Even though Serbia had a 2-0 lead in sets, Canada bounced back and turned the match around – 3-2 (17:25, 21:25, 25:17, 25:20, 17:15). Canada completely out-blocked the last EuroVolley winner (19-9), with Steven Marshall standing out in this segment (6 blocks) and Ryan Sclater in offense (17 points), showing that the previous four wins in a row were everything by a coincidence for the North American side.

Marko Podrascanin (Serbia): “We did our best, but after the second set we were really tired. We started to commit many errors and we didn’t play like the first two sets. We played 15 games with the same lineup – only a few guys were changed, but we did our best and I’m proud of my team, because from this difficult tournament we are going home with 10 victories and it’s an amazing result for us, because we missed two key players during this tournament. Once again I have to say that I’m really proud of my team and it will be an important lesson for us, for the future.”

John Gordon Perrin (Canada): “I’m just really proud of the way we fought, especially coming back from 0-2. It was the last game of the tournament and we had every reason to fall terribly, but we found something in us and we were able to stabilise and play the game and we are happy that we won. Our reception broke down very badly in the first two sets -they were serving well – but we had to be better, we managed to stabilise our reception and everything else followed.”

USA ended their path in the Preliminary Round of VNL with a 3-0 (25:21, 25:23, 25:20) victory against Japan. TJ Defalco was the top scorer for USA with 15 points, but also Matt Anderson (12 points), Garrett Muagututia (12) and Max Holt (10) scored in double digits. The North Americans claimed a total of 8 wins in the Preliminary Round, one more than Japan.

Micah Christenson (USA): “It’s more for pride, for us to end the tournament on a high note and to play good volleyball is always good. We stayed focused through the whole game, they put a lot of pressure on us with their serve and we never panicked, we were always confident and able to come back.”

Yuki Ishikawa (JPN): “In each set, from the beginning to the middle we were able to read their game and we were able to keep the pace with them. However, in the decisive parts of the sets we were not able to score, we were also not able to keep the momentum and it’s a reason why we lost. We should have won a few of the games which we lost here at the VNL, but it was a valuable experience for younger players ahead of the Olympic Games.”

France beats Poland in five sets to secure the third ticket for the Final Four of the competition.
France beat the two-time defending world champion by a 3-2 (25:22, 21:25, 22:25, 25:20, 15:11). Interestingly, Poland’s head coach Vital Heynen confronted his best lineup (Kubiak, León, Kurek…) to France even though his team assured the ticket for the semifinals the day before. Laurent Tillie’s side trailed 1-2 in sets but never lost their calm. Earvin Ngapeth was France’s top scorer tonight with 18 points, while Jénia Grebennikov made 71.4% digs (12/14).

Wilfredo Leon (Poland): “We had already qualified to the Final Four. Okay, we lost today, but we will learn from this match and we will make it better in the next matches. I think we made too many mistakes. In the tie-break we were a little bit down in the spike, there was some lack of concentration also in other elements.”

Benjamin Toniutti (France): “I think it was a good game. We were playing good in block-defence, we were touching a lot, we missed some counterattacks at some moments of the game, but we stayed in the game until the end. It’s always difficult to win against Poland, so it’s a really important win and now we are going to the Final Four.”

Argentina defeats Iran in four long sets to end their 2021 VNL campaign with a victory that improves their record to 7-8 for ninth place in the final ranking.

Milad Ebadipour (Iran): “In our matches against Argentina there are always a lot of emotions like in games against Poland. We could have won this game 3-0, but we made many simple mistakes. We didn’t have enough power in some upper spikes, we had a lot of simple errors. I think we could win this game, but unfortunately we lost and we end this tournament with defeat. We didn’t want to complete the tournament this way, but this is life.”

Luciano De Cecco (Argentina): “We played really well, I think that maybe it was our best match in this month, so we are going on vacation now, we are happy and now we have a rest for a few days before focusing on the Olympics. Iran played like us, so fast with defence and good sideout. We struggled somewhat in counterattack but we played a good sideout and I think that a few serves and blocks made the difference.”

Slovenia did its share and swept Bulgaria to achieve the 12th victory in the competition, which guaranteed it a spot in the Final Four. The EuroVolley vice-champion had everything in its hands given it faced one of the worst teams in the tournament, and it justified the role of the favorite without problems. Tonček Štern scored 13 points on the winning side.

Asparuh Asparuhov (Bulgaria): “It was a very tough match – the last one. We are very tired physically and mentally. We didn’t play well, especially me, because I made too many errors. It’s a lesson for us and we need to work a lot on all elements. We need to improve every aspect, improve technically, physically and tactically and work on every element of the game ahead of the European Championships.”

Tine Urnaut (Slovenia): “I’m very happy that we managed to win the game today and we qualified to the Final Four. That was our goal. It’s a milestone for me to play my 200th match with the National Team – I’m very happy and proud of this. It’s also important that we managed to earn a crucial victory which gives us a spot in the Final Four. Again our mindset was the most important. We wanted to start the match well and we did it. At the beginning of the first set we had a few problems, but then with better serving we managed to improve our block and counterattack and it made a difference.”

Italy – Germany 3-2 (25:12, 24:26, 25:22, 21:25, 15:13)
MORE TO FOLLOW

Russia’s triumph against Brazil (the first team that secured a semifinal slot) was in vain given the outcome of France vs Poland: Russia tied with France at 11-4 and 34 points but the latter had a better set ratio. So, Russia, a two-time defending champion of the VNL (and only winner), said goodbye to the semifinals.

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)
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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)

👉🏼 Standings: Brazil 38, Poland 37, Slovenia 34, France 34, Russia 34, Serbia 28, USA 24, Canada 21, Argentina 20, Italy 19, Japan 19, Iran 18, Germany 14, The Netherlands 11, Bulgaria 7, Australia 2.
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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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