VNL 2023: week 3 starts today! Argentina and France ok. Italy stun Brazil, Japan struggled but win the battle against China

Week 3 of 2023 Men Volleyball Nations League started today with Pool 5 in Anaheim and Pool 6 in Pasay City, Philippines.

In USA, Argentina start in a perfect way to move into the top three in the standings after a great victory over Serbia.
Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists started behind, but came back to defeat the Europeans by 3-1 (19:25, 25:16, 25:19, 25:18), significantly increasing their chances of qualifying for the competition Finals, which will be held in Gdansk, Poland, from July 19 to 23.
Argentina entered the court in eighth place, occupying the last spot in the Finals, but were able to surpass as many as four rivals, moving up to third place, with six victories and 19 points.
Serbia, who were right behind them, after the second game of the Pool,is at No.10 with four victories and 11 points.
The South Americans had the return of star setter and team captain Luciano De Cecco, who hadn’t played in the second week of the tournament, but the man of the match was opposite Bruno Lima, who left the court as the match’s top scorer with 18 points including one ace and one block, while middle blocker Agustin Loser also contributed with as many as eight blocks, seven attacks and one ace in his 16-point performance, and outside hitter Luciano Palonsky added another 14.
On the other side of the net, Miran Kujundžić was the top scorer with 16 points, followed by opposite Drazen Luburic with 12.
Either way, Argentina’s collective performance was very strong as, except for aces, where each team had five, they dominated every other statistical category, outscoring the Serbians in kills (47 to 46), blocks (16 to five) and opponent errors (26 to 22).

“We spent the last week training here in Anaheim and were working hard for these matches,” said Loser at the end of the match.
“This win puts us closer to our goal of making it to the Finals and we’re happy about it. We tried to study Serbia a lot before the match and that helped our performance in blocking. Having Luciano back was also huge for us, he’s one of the best in the world and brings a lot of experience and leadership.”

On the same Pool, in European night, all easy for France who, still without Earvin Ngapeth, easily down Iran with a clear 3-0 (25:18, 25:22, 25:19).

Pool 6 in Pasay City started with an upset: Italy’s 3-1 (23:25, 25:20, 25:15, 25:21) victory over Brazil.
With this success, the reigning world and European champions rose to fifth place in the current standings with a 6-3 win-loss record and 18 points.
Also on 6-3, but with 19 points, Brazil are in third place.
Although the South Americans outspiked the rivals with 59 attacking points against 50, the winners dominated on all other counts and especially in serving with as many as 13 aces against three.
Opposite Yuri Romano led the field as top scorer with 20 points and four aces, followed by outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto with 17 points (three aces), and middle Gianluca Galassi also contributed with four winning blocks and 12 points.
Outside Henrique Honorato was Brazil’s best scorer with 15 points.
On the same Pool, in Asian derby, undefeated Japan struggled more than expected but eventually down China at tie break (26:24, 25:23, 21:25, 25:23, 15:12).

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🏐| 2023 VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE

— July 04, 2023 —

Pool 5 – Week 3 – Anaheim 🇺🇸

• 13:00 (Local Time) | Argentina – Serbia 3-1 (19:25, 25:16, 25:19, 25:18)

• 16:30 (Local Time) | Iran – France 0-3 (18:25, 22:25, 19:25)

Pool 6 – Week 3 – Pasay City 🇵🇭

• 15:00 (Local Time) | Brazil – Italy 1-3 (25:23, 20:25, 15:25, 21:25)

• 19:00 (Local Time) | Japan – China 3-2 (26:24, 25:23, 21:25, 25:23, 15:12)

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🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day):
1. Japan 24
2. USA 21
3. Argentina 19
4. Brazil 19
5. Slovenia 18
6. Italy 18
7. Poland 14
8. The Netherlands 14
9. France 12
10. Serbia 11
11. Iran 8
12. China 6
12. Bulgaria 6
13. Cuba 5
14. Canada 5
16. Germany 4