2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship
- 9–30 September
- Schedule
- Teams
- Power Rankings
Now that the dust has finally settled, it’s time to objectively look at the best players in this year’s WCH. We propose an assessment that goes beyond FIVB’s official Dream Team, including to our list players who made the VolleyMob’s Eliminated Squads Dream Team and our honorable mentions.
Opposite Hitters
Original FIVB Dream Team Choices
- Poland’s Bartosz Kurek – Led all scorers in the tournament while also hitting close to 52% from the court. He also finished in the Top 5 in blocking and serving.
- USA’s Matt Anderson – Finished 2nd in the tournament in scoring and hitting efficiency (56.56%). He was also the tournament’s 4th best server.
VolleyMob’s Eliminated Squads Dream Team Choice
- China’s Chuan Jiang – Scored almost 5 points per set while dishing out 0.4 aces per set.
Honorable Mentions
- Brazil’s Wallace de Souza: He was the tournament’s third best scorer while hitting 53.51%, good enough for 5th overall. He is old, but still gold.
- Italy’s Ivan Zaytsev: He was the tournament’s 2nd best server and finished at the Top 10 in hitting and scoring. Often Italy’s best player on the court.
- Serbia’s Aleksandar Atanasijevic: He finished in the top 7 in scoring and hitting efficiency. He also tied the competition’s single game scoring record.
Outside Hitters
Original FIVB Dream Team Choices
- Poland’s Michal Kubiak – Poland’s captain had a perfect WCH run. He was very consistent in all of the game’s skills, even finishing in the top 5 in blocking despite being only 6’3″ in height. Most importantly, his leadership helped Poland to repeat as champions.
- Brazil’s Douglas Souza – Brazil’s biggest surprise at the tournament, Douglas was the last outside hitter in the team’s depth chart just weeks prior to the tournament. He led the whole field in hitting efficiency at almost 57%. He also finished in the top 5 in total scoring and receiving.
VolleyMob’s Eliminated Squads Dream Team Choices
- Japan’s Yuri Ishikawa – Led the competition’s preliminary phase in hitting percentage at 58%.
- Japan’s Tatsuya Fukuwaza – Hit 50% from the court while being one of the competition’s best passers at almost 35% perfection rate.
Honorable Mentions
- USA’s Taylor Sander – Rose to a new level in this WCH, playing in the same tier as Christenson and Anderson. He led the competition in receiving, hit 56.32% from the court (3rd best), and was the tournament’s 8th highest scorer.
- Russia’s Egor Kliuka – Finished the competition in the Top 5 in receiving and top 10 in hitting efficiency. Russia’s hope for the future.
- Brazil’s Lipe Fontelles – Finished the competition in the Top 10 in scoring, bust most importantly, tutored Brazil’s injury riddled squad to grit and grind all the way to the finals.
Middle Blockers
Original FIVB Dream Team Choices
- Brazil’s Lucas Saatkamp – Hit 63% from the field, but his low blocking numbers (0.27) were eye popping. Still, he makes it up for his poor defense on scoring and serving (top 20 in both categories).
- Poland’s Piotr Nowakowski – Hit only 53.54% from the field, and although he finished 6th in blocking, was outblocked in his own team by Kurek and Kubiak, which is not a very good look, specially since his offensive game was non existent. He was a clear example of the FIVB choosing a player to its Dream Team based solely on the his squad’s record. Regardless, the tournament’s MB field was weak this time around.
VolleyMob’s Eliminated Squads Dream Team Choices
- China’s Longhai Chen – Hit 70% from the field while stuffing 0.61 balls per set
- Cuba’s Roamy Arce – The next coming of RobertLandy Simon, hit 53% from the field while blocking 0.74 balls per set
Honorable Mentions
- Netherland’s Simon Van De Voorde – Led the preliminary phase with 0.8 blocks per set. As a true of a wall as any other player in the competition.
- Russia’s Ilyas Kurkaev – Topped the blocking leaderboard at the end of the tournament with 0.54 stuffs per set
- Russia’s Dmitriy Muserskiy – Hit 65% from the field while leading the competition in aces and finishing 3rd in blocks.
Setters
Original FIVB Dream Team Choice
- USA’s Micah Christenson – A no brainer. Team USA was the favorite to win the gold medal right up until it ran into a Polish wall. Led the competition in running sets and finished in the Top 10 in digging and Top 15 in serving.
VolleyMob’s Eliminated Squads Dream Team Choice
- Tunisia’s Khaled Ben Slimene – Was one of the best setters of the first round with 7.35 running sets (5th place)
Honorable Mentions
- Brazil’s Bruninho – 4th best setter of the competition and finished in the 10 in digging. More importantly, found a way to drive an injury riddled Brazilian team, which had as its biggest star a third stringer outside hitter, into the finals.
- Australia’s Harrison Peacock – Led the competition’s preliminary phase in running sets
- Italy’s Simone Giannelli – Much like Crhistenson’s, represents the setter of the future, with long, athletic, all-around play that includes exceptional servicing and blocking as well. However, he still needs to mature to one day challenge the American for the top positions in these lists.
Liberos
Original FIVB Dream Team Choice
- Poland’s Pawel Zatorski – Led Poland’s backcourt en route to gold. Had 1.50 digs per set and ranked 2nd in receiving with a 31.96% rating.
VolleyMob’s Eliminated Squads Dream Team Choice
- Dominican Republic’s Enger Feliz – Was one of the best liberos of the first round, netting 1.81 digs per set
Honorable Mentions
- Russia’s Alexey Verbov – Netted 1.78 digs per set, while allowing Butko and Grankin to always set within the 3m line
- USA’s Erik Shoji – Netted 1.64 digs per set and consistantly allowed Christenson freedom and time to better distribute Team USA’s offensive game
- Brazil’s Thales Hoss – Finished in 5th plce for digging and 9th in receiving. Brazil may have found its libero for the long haul
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