FIVB U21 CHAMPIONSHIPS
- June 23-July 2, 2017
- Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Schedule/Results
- Brazil def. Argentina 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23)
- Russia def. Canada 3-1 (28-26, 25-27, 25-21, 25-13)
Brazil and Russia remained perfect when each picked up their second easy wins on Thursday in Pool F play. That sets up a tie-breaking match for Thursday in Brno, Czech Republic, which is relevant for only seeding – the two have both guaranteed advancement from the Pool into the Final 4 on July 1st and 2nd.
Brazil def. Argentina 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23)
Brazil was able to find court time for 11 of its 12 players in the match, with 6’9″ giant Lucas Barreto being the lone exception, and divvied its scoring up nearly as evenly – with 8 players getting on the board offensively.
With the win, Brazil avoided the upset fate that their senior colleagues saw against Argentina in the World League last weekend – where they were upset by Argentina for the first time in World League history.
Brazil has played with a balanced attack throughout the tournament, with a rotating cast leading their scoring in different matches. On Wednesday, Pablo Natan Ventura took the torch with 13 points, which more-than-doubled his previous output in the tournament (11). Ventura didn’t play in Brazil’s Pool F opener on Tuesday when they beat Canada 3-1.
Brazil out-blocked Argentina 8-4, though neither side was particularly good from the service line, nor played a particularly clean game.
Russia def. Canada 3-1 (28-26, 25-27, 25-21, 25-13)
The tournament’s second-leading scorer Anton Semyshev picked up 18 more points on Wednesday as his team rolled through Canada 3-1, but was still out-performed by his teammate Ivan Piskarev.
Piskarev recorded 20 points (18 kills, 2 blocks) in the match, and both he and Semyshev hit 58% in the match, as did Russia as a team. Canada also hit fairly well, at 47%, as a team, but were beaten by Russia in every statistical category overall. The two sides played point-for-point the entire evening until the 4th set, where the Russians completely overwhelmed their opponents.
“I am satisfied with the result, but it was a tough game,” said Russian coach Vladimir Khromenkov after the match. “Canada did not give up easily.”
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