2018 FIVB MEN’S VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE – WEEK 1
- May 25-27, 2018
- Schedule/Results
Day 1 went mostly according to plan with just one slight upset by the world rankings.
Pool 2 offered the most competitive matches with both going five sets. In the end, the World No. 2 ranked United States edged past No. 7 Argentina and No. 14 Bulgaria came out on top over No. 20 China.
Bulgaria was the only one of the four challenger teams to pick up a Day 1 victory, with a five-setter over host China.
Australia took a set off of Japan, but Canada was swept by Russia and Poland quickly moved past South Korea.
No. 9 France bested No. 8 Iran in four-sets, but with the French boasting home court advantage, the results are a wash.
Some of the lower seeded teams collapsed under the pressure, as Germany and Serbia each gave away nearly 30 points in losses to Italy and Brazil in Pool 3.
Here’s a look at how each pool’s results shook out.
- Pool 1 Recap
- Pool 2 Recaps: USA Recap; Bulgaria Recap
- Pool 3 Recap
- Pool 4 Recap
Standings
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Russia |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | MAX | 76 | 57 | 1.333 |
| 2 |  Poland |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | MAX | 75 | 59 | 1.271 |
| 3 |  Brazil |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | MAX | 76 | 68 | 1.118 |
| 4 |  France |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3.000 | 99 | 83 | 1.193 |
| 5 |  Italy |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3.000 | 98 | 82 | 1.195 |
| 6 |  Japan |
1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3.000 | 98 | 75 | 1.307 |
| 7 |  United States |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1.500 | 115 | 108 | 1.065 |
| 8 |  Bulgaria |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1.500 | 102 | 96 | 1.063 |
| 9 |  China |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.667 | 96 | 102 | 0.941 |
| 10 |  Argentina |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.667 | 108 | 115 | 0.939 |
| 11 |  Iran |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.333 | 83 | 99 | 0.838 |
| 12 |  Germany |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.333 | 82 | 98 | 0.837 |
| 13 |  Australia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.333 | 75 | 98 | 0.765 |
| 14 |  Serbia |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 68 | 76 | 0.895 |
| 15 |  South Korea |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 |
| 16 |  Canada |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 57 | 76 | 0.750 |
