2018 FIVB MEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – SECOND ROUND POOL H
- Sept. 21-23, 2018
- Palace of Culture and Sports; Varna, Bulgaria
- Pool H: #3 Poland, #7 Argentina, #9 France, #11 Serbia
Poland sees themselves into the Third Round with a 3-0 sweep over a Serbian side that gave a rather pedestrian effort in an attempt to rest players for the next stage of the tournament. France looked impressive against Argentina, but it was not enough to qualify for the matches in Turin. Both Serbia and Poland qualify out of Pool H.
POLAND DEF. SERBIA 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-14)
- Poland and Serbia are both at 6-2
- Match Stats
- P2 Stat Page
- Attendance: 1,020
Poland jumped out early and kept their foot on the gas pedal in an emphatic 3-0 sweep over Serbia. While Serbia gave their starters a rest (they had already clinched a spot in the Third Round), they did not pull them from the match until partway through the 2nd set. Poland needed a positive result from this match to continue on in the tournament, and they got it behind a 21-point performance from Bartosz Kurek. The starting opposite put away 14 kills in addition to his 2 blocks, and a match-high 5 service aces.
Artur Szalpuk continued his exemplary tournament with 15 points on 10 kills and 4 aces. Micah Kubiak posted 11 points on 8 kills, 2 blocks, and 1 service ace. Jakub Kochanowski led the match with 4 blocks. He also chipped in 2 kills on 3 swings. Poland finished with a 10 to 1 advantage in service aces. Fabian Drzyzga set Poland to a 56.3% success rate in attack.
That lone service ace for Serbia came from Aleksandar Atanasijevic. The starting opposite added 4 kills to finish with 5 total points. He was replaced in the 2nd set by Drazen Luburic, who finished with a team-high tying 6 points on 5 kills and 1 block. Marko Ivovic also scored 6 points for Serbia from 5 kills and a block. As with the rest of the Serbian starting lineup, he was replaced in the 2nd set. Marko Podrascanin and Srecko Lisinac both scored 5 points from the middle.
The win moves Poland into 1st place in Pool H and earned them a spot in the Third Round. Serbia dropped down into 2nd place, but are still progressing.
FRANCE DEF. ARGENTINA 3-1 (25-16, 26-28, 25-19)
- France finishes 5-3; Argentina falls to 3-5
- Match Stats
- P2 Stat Page
- Attendance: 370
It is true that France needed Serbia to defeat Poland for them to have a chance to advance to Round 3. Though that would not matter if they lost to Argentina. Earvin N’Gapeth made sure that would happen with a 28-point performance in their 3-1 win. He posted a match-high 26 kills and contributed 2 points from the service line. Kevin Tille had a slow start (scoring only 2 points by the end of the 2nd set), but came on strong at the end to score 15 points. His points came from 14 kills and a block. Stephen Boyer scored 12 points from the right side on 12 kills.
Kevin Le Roux and Nicolas Le Goff both scored 8 points each in the middle for France. Le Roux put away 6 kills to go with a block and an ace. Le Goff chipped in 2 blocks to go with his 6 kills. Benjamin Toniutti, a setter, led the match in blocks with 5. He also set France to a 56.4% hitting percentage.
Argentina was led by a middle blocker, Agustin Loser. He led the team with 15 points and 4 blocks. The rest of his scoring production came in the form of 11 kills. Facundo Conte recovered a bit from a dismal performance on Saturday with 14 points on 13 kills and a block. Jose Gonzalez scored 12 points from the opposite with 10 kills and 2 blocks. Luciano De Cecco got the start at setter, but was replaced in the 1st set by Maxamiliano Cavanna. The combination of the pair accounted for a 43.9% success rate in attack.
Laurent Tillie, head coach of France, gave the impression that he knew his team had completed their run in the World Championships.“We are happy but not so much. We had too much pressure the last matches, the last day,” he explained. “We just tried to survive. It was difficult to stay in the game against Argentina today because we really wanted to win but at the same time it was difficult to find the rhythm. Luckily, in the end Ngapeth put the team on the right track and pushed us to the victory. I have no expectations regards to the match between Serbia and Poland, I am not going to watch it.”
POOL H STANDINGS
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Poland |
6 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 9 | 2.333 | 702 | 593 | 1.184 |
| 2 |  Serbia |
6 | 2 | 17 | 20 | 12 | 1.667 | 707 | 677 | 1.044 |
| 3 |  France |
5 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 12 | 1.750 | 765 | 688 | 1.112 |
| 4 |  Argentina |
3 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 19 | 0.737 | 725 | 751 | 0.965 |
POOL H SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep | 17:00 | Serbia |
3–2 | France |
22–25 | 26–24 | 25–20 | 18–25 | 18–16 | 109–110 | P2 Report |
| 21 Sep | 20:40 | Poland |
2–3 | Argentina |
25–16 | 19–25 | 23–25 | 25–23 | 14–16 | 106–105 | P2 Report |
| 22 Sep | 17:00 | Serbia |
3–0 | Argentina |
25–18 | 25–22 | 25–22 | 75–62 | P2 Report | ||
| 22 Sep | 20:40 | Poland |
1–3 | France |
15–25 | 18–25 | 25–23 | 18–25 | 76–98 | P2 Report | |
| 23 Sep | 17:00 | France |
3–1 | Argentina |
25–16 | 25–20 | 26–28 | 25–19 | 101–83 | ||
| 23 Sep | 20:40 | Poland |
3–0 | Serbia |
25–17 | 25–16 | 25–14 | 75–47 |
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