France, Canada, Japan and Cuban open VNL 2024 with victories and 3 points

2 min read

2024 FIVB Volleyball Nations League started today with first four games in Antalya, Türkiye and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
In Pool 1 Canada cancelled Türkiye’s ambitious debut in the competition with well-deserved victory.
In their first match of this edition of prestigious tournament, they overcame an early deficit to secure a 3-1 win (17:25, 25:23, 25:21, 25:21).
However, despite a strong start and a fervent support from home fans at the Antalya Spor Salonu couldn’t maintain their momentum, as Canada’s serving efficiency, highlighted by 12 aces compared to Türkiye’s just 5, were decisive.
Stephen Maar led the winners with a match-high 24 points, including five aces, while his teammates Lionel McCarthy and Eric Loeppky also contributed with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Türkiye’s top scorers were Ramazan Efe Mandiraci, who scored 21 points, and Adis Lagumdzija who added 17.
Reigning Olympic champions France also secured a win on the opening day of Pool 1 action with a straight sets win over Bulgaria, partially 21:25, 24:26 and 14:25.
In an electrifying start of Pool 2, Cuba stunned Brazil in front of a full-packed Maracanãzinho stadium, defeating the hosts 3-1 (25:23, 27:29, 25:21, 25:21).
Despite the return of legendary coach Bernardinho Rezende and nearly 10,000 Brazilian fans, Cuba’s almost perfect offense secured the win, boosting their Olympic qualifying hopes.
The victory propelled Cuba from 11th to 10th in the FIVB World Rankings while Brazil, despite the upset, remains in fifth place.
Decisive among the winners were Marlon Yant (18 points), Miguel Ángel López (15), Michael Sánchez (14), Javier Concepcion (13), and Robertlandy Simón (12).
In another match, last year’s bronze medalists Japan overcame Tokyo Olympic bronze medalists Argentina 3-1 (24:26, 25:22, 25:23, 25:19) in Rio de Janeiro.
Yuji Nishida led the winners with 24 points, supported by Kai Masato’s 17 points.
For Argentina, Bruno Lima and Luciano Palonsky scored 16 points each.

__________________

🏐| FIVB VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE 2024 | Tuesday | May 21, 2024

👉🏼 Pool 1 – Week 1 – Antalya 🇹🇷
• 17.00 (Local Time) | Bulgaria – France 0-3 (21:25, 24:26, 14:25)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Canada 1-3 (25:17, 23:25, 21:25, 21:25)

👉🏼 Pool 2 – Week 1 – Rio De Janeiro 🇧🇷
• 17.30 (Local Time) | Argentina – Japan 1-3 (26:24, 22:25, 23:25, 19:25)
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Cuba – Brazil 3-1 (25:23, 27:29, 25:21, 25:21)
__________________

🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. France 3
2. Japan 3
3. Cuba 3
4. Canada 3
5. Serbia 0
6. Germany 0
7. Poland 0
8. The Netherlands 0
9. Italy 0
10. Slovenia 0
11. USA 0
12. Iran 0
13. Türkiye 0
14. Argentina 0
15. Brazil 0
16. Bulgaria 0