2018 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championships – Preliminary Pool A
- September 9th-18th, 2018
- Foro Italico Center Court, Rome, Italy
- Preliminary Pool A
Italy kicked off the 2018 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship with a significant 3-0 win over a scrappy Japanese team, outdoors, in the Foro Italico.
#4 Italy def. #12 Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23)
- Italy moves to 1-0, Japan falls to 0-1
- Attendance: 11,170 (sell-out crowd)
- Match Stats
- P2 Stat Sheet
Italy out-blocked Japan 9-1 in an otherwise even match to sweep Japan in the first result of the tournament. The match is also the only outdoor match of the tournament, played at the center tennis court at the Foro Italico. The arena, typically used for clay court tennis, has a listed capacity of 10,400, but 11,170 filled the arena to capacity on Sunday, pulling in €269,471 (311,306 USD) in gate receipts.
6 players contributed to Italy’s blocking effort, including 2 each from Ivan Zaytsev, Daniele Mazzone, and Simone Anzani.
Zaytsev led all players with 13 points (9 kills, 2 blocks, 2 aces), followed by Osmany Juantorena and Filippo Lanza with 11 each. Italy hit a whopping 63.2% in the match (43/68). Japan hit just 44.8%, stifled by the Italian block.
Issei Otake led Japan with 11 points, including 9 kills on 17 swings, 1 ace, and the only Japanese block in the match.
Pool A Standings After Day 1
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Italy |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | MAX | 75 | 64 | 1.172 |
| 2 |  Japan |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 64 | 75 | 0.853 |
| 3 |  Argentina |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MAX | 0 | 0 | MAX |
| 3 |  Belgium |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MAX | 0 | 0 | MAX |
| 3 |  Dominican Republic |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MAX | 0 | 0 | MAX |
| 3 |  Slovenia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MAX | 0 | 0 | MAX |
Schedule & Results
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep | 19:30 | Italy |
3–0 | Japan |
25–20 | 25–21 | 25–23 | 75–64 | |||
| 12 Sep | 17:00 | Dominican Republic |
– | Slovenia |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 12 Sep | 20:30 | Belgium |
– | Argentina |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 13 Sep | 17:00 | Dominican Republic |
– | Japan |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 13 Sep | 21:15 | Italy |
– | Belgium |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 14 Sep | 17:00 | Japan |
– | Slovenia |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 14 Sep | 20:30 | Argentina |
– | Dominican Republic |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 15 Sep | 17:00 | Belgium |
– | Slovenia |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 15 Sep | 21:15 | Italy |
– | Argentina |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 16 Sep | 17:00 | Japan |
– | Belgium |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 16 Sep | 21:15 | Dominican Republic |
– | Italy |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 17 Sep | 17:00 | Belgium |
– | Dominican Republic |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 17 Sep | 20:30 | Argentina |
– | Slovenia |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 18 Sep | 17:00 | Japan |
– | Argentina |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 18 Sep | 21:15 | Italy |
– | Slovenia |
– | – | – | 0–0 |
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