2018 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Week 3 / Pool 9
- June 8-10, 2018
- TD Place Arena; Ottawa, Canada
- Time Zone: UTC – 4 (ET)
- World Rankings: No. 2 USA, No. 6 Canada, No. 10 Germany, No. 16 Australia
- Preview
- Schedule/Results
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jun | 16:40 | Germany  |
3–0 |  United States |
25–19 | 25–22 | 25–13 | 75–54 | P2 Report | ||
| 8 Jun | 19:40 | Canada  |
3–0 |  Australia |
25–19 | 26–24 | 25–19 | 76–62 | P2 Report | ||
| 9 Jun | 16:10 | United States |
3–1 | Australia |
20–25 | 25–20 | 25–15 | 25–17 | 95–77 | P2 Report | |
| 9 Jun | 19:10 | Canada |
1–3 | Germany |
23–25 | 22–25 | 25–20 | 19–25 | 89–95 | P2 Report | |
| 10 Jun | 13:10 | Australia |
3–2 | Germany |
25–22 | 18–25 | 17–25 | 25–18 | 15–11 | 100–101 |
Australia def. Germany 3-2
- Australia defeated Germany 25-22, 18-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-11
- Australia moved to 2-7 (6 points); Germany moved to 4-5 (13 points)
Australia ended its three-match losing streak by registering a five-set win over Germany, which had played the role of giant killer itself the last three matches.
The key to the Australian victory actually came from Germany in the form of 40 errors. The Aussies made just 26 errors, giving them a 14-point cushion, which kept them in the game in a match decided by just one overall point. The Germans bested Australia in kills (51-48), blocks (13-7) and aces (11-4), but came up short.
Jordan Richards scored a team-best 17 points for Australia with 15 kills, a block and an ace. Thomas Hodges entered the match in Set 3, but still managed 10 points, all on kills. Beau Graham and Luke Smith chimed in with nine points apiece. Graham did a little bit of everything, turning in four kills, a team-best three blocks and two aces. Smith tacked on eight kills and a block.
Christian Fromm posted a match-high 21 points on 18 kills, two blocks and an ace. Moritz Reichert (15) and Jakob Gunthor (13) followed. Reichert downed nine kills and added a team-high four aces and two blocks. Gunthor excelled at the net with seven kills and a team-best six blocks. Germany opted to sit Tobias Krick for the whole match and played Simon Hirsch just in Set 1, giving him four offensive swings.
Australia struck first, building a 16-13 lead with help from its blocking prowess, and continuing on to a 25-22 win.
Germany countered with a 25-18 win in Set 2 as Reichert and Fromm starred. The Germans carried the advantage on to a 25-17 victory.
Australia was not rattled and stayed the course, rallying to the five-set victory with wins of 25-18 and 15-11.
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