Poland’s Malwina Smarzek Cracks 30 Points Twice in Week 2 of #VNL

Five 30-point games highlighted week 2 of the 2018 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League, including two each by Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic and Poland’s Malwina Smarzek.

Week 2 30-Point Matches

• Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic – 30 points vs. Thailand (W 3-1)
• Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic – 32 points vs. China (W 3-1)
• South Korea’s Yeon Koung Kim – 31 points vs. Germany (W 3-1)
• Poland’s Malwina Smarzek – 36 points vs. China (W 3-2)
• Poland’s Malwina Smarzek – 38 points vs. Thailand (L 3-2)

In spite of Poland’s seat near the bottom of the table (they have a 2-4 record and 5 points), Smarzek has been a one-woman offensive machine at this year’s Nations League. She has 159 points so far in this tournament – 29 more than the next-best scorer Kim Yeon-koung – and 25 more kills than anyone else.

It’s taken a massive number of swings for her to get there. She has 333 offensive attempts so far in this tournament, which is also the most (by 69 swings – again more than Yeon-koung, who has 264 attempts). Her hitting percentage is 40.24% – just 15th in the tournament

No team has been more dependent on a single player in this tournament than has Poland, with Smarzek responsible for more than 40% of her team’s attempts and over 42% of their spikes/kills.

The 21-year old

First Two Weeks, Teams Ranked by % of team’s attempts for one player.

Other Statistical Observations:

• Another Polish player, Marlena Plesnierowicz, leads all players in aces with 11 (the only woman in the tournament with double-figures in that category). Once again, though, it’s a huge number of attempts. Plesnierowicz (109 serves) and her teammate Natalia Medrzyk (102 attempts) are the only two with over 100 attempts.
• Team USA’s outside-hitter-turned-libero Kelsey Robinson has a 27.45% excellent reception after 2 weeks, and the U.S. has 3 of the top 5 receivers in the tournament among eligible players (Kim Hill at 35.42%, Michelle Bartsch-Hackley at 28.40%). Robinson so far has the same number of reception errors (9) as the woman she replaced Justine Wong-Orantes in 16 more attempts (91 vs. 75). Wong-Orantes has a higher excellent percentage, but Robinson’s play has been more consistent.
• Brazil’s dominant duo at middle blocker Adenizia da Silva and Ana Beatriz Correa each have 19 blocks in 22 sets played, tying them for 3rd in the tournament in total blocks and 2nd in blocks-per-set. They rank 3rd as a team behind Poland (80) and Turkey (77) with 72 total blocks as a team.

Statistical Leaders after Week 2 of the 2018 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League

Top Scorers

1. Malwina Smarzek, Poland – 159 points
2. Kim Yeon Koung, Korea – 130 points
3. Louisa Lippmann, Germany – 114 points
4. Brayelin Martinez, Dominican Republic – 106 points
5. Kseniia Parubets, Russia, 98 points

Top Hitting Percentages

1. Tijana Boskovic, Serbia – 50.59%
2. Irina Voronkova, Russia – 48.78%
3. Brankica Mihajlovic, Serbia – 46.39%
4. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, USA – 46.21%
5. Natalia Malykh, Russia – 45.90%

Best Blockers (Blocks/set)

1. Irina Fetisova, Russia – 20 blocks, .95/set
2. (TIE) Adenizia da Silva, Brazil – 19 blocks, .86/set
3. (TIE) Ana Beatriz Correa, Brazil – 19 blocks, .86/set
4. (TIE) Eda Erdem Dundar, Turkey – 19 blocks, .86/set
5. Su Ji Kim, South Korea – 17 blocks, .81/set

Best Servers (Aces/set)

1. Marlena Plesnierowicz, Poland – 11 aces, .42/set
2. (TIE) Celine van Gestel, Belgium – 9 aces, .41/set
3. (TIE) Brankica Mihaljovic, Serbia – 9 aces, .41/set
4. (TIE) Jovana Stevanovic, Serbia – 9 aces, .41/set
5. (TIE) Gamze Alikaya, Turkey, 9 aces, .41/set

Best Setters (Assists/set)

1. Carli Lloyd, USA – 431 assists, 20.52/set
2. Ilka van de Vyver, Belgium – 339 assists, 15.41/set
3. Clarisa Sagardia, Argentina – 269 assists, 13.45/set
4. Niverka Dharlenis Marte Frica, Dominican Republic – 298 assists, 12.96/set
5. Roberta Silva Ratzke, Brazil – 267 assists, 12.14/set

Best Diggers (Digs/set)

1. Maret Balekstein-Grothues, Netherlands – 58 digs, 2.76/set
2. Yuki Ishii, Japan – 47 digs, 2.35/set
3. (TIE) Carli Lloyd, USA, – 46 digs, 2.19/set
4. (TIE) Kelsey Robinson, USA – 46 digs, 2.19/set
5. Celine van Gestel, Belgium – 48 digs, 2.18/set

Best Receivers (Excellent %, eligible players)

1. Myrthe Schoot, Netherlands – 35.71%
2. Kim Hill, USA – 35.42%
3. Britt Herbots, Belgium – 30.43%
4. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, USA – 28.40%
5. Kelsey Robinson, USA – 27.47%