2018 FIVB MEN’S VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE – WEEK 1/POOL 3
- May 25-27, 2018
- Spodek, Katowice, Poland (seating 11,500) on May 25th & Tauron Arena Krakow, Krakow, Poland (seating 22,000) on May 26 and May 27
- Time Zone: GMT + 2 (US Eastern Time +6)
- World Rankings: #3 Poland, #4 Russia, #6 Canada, #21 South Korea,
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- Schedule/Results
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 May | 16:00 | Poland  |
3–0 |  South Korea |
25–20 | 25–18 | 25–21 | 75–59 | P2 P3 | ||
| 25 May | 19:00 | Russia  |
3–0 |  Canada |
26–24 | 25–14 | 25–19 | 76–57 | P2 P3 | ||
| 26 May | 16:00 | Poland |
3–0 | Russia |
25–15 | 25–23 | 25–23 | 75–61 | P2 P3 | ||
| 26 May | 19:00 | Canada |
3–0 | South Korea |
25–20 | 25–17 | 25–19 | 75–56 |
Poland def. Russia 3-0
- Poland def. Russia 25-15, 25-23, 25-23
- Poland moved to 2-0 (6 points); Russia moved to 1-1 (3 points)
Michal Kubiak and Lukasz Kaczmarek combined for 35 points to guide Poland to a sweep of Russia to put the team atop the VNL standings after two days of competition.
Kubiak racked up 19 points, including a team-high 14 kills, three blocks and two aces, while Kaczmarek chipped in 16 points, downing 12 kills and adding three stuffs and an ace. Bartlomiej Lemanski put up three stuffs and served up three of the team’s eight aces, while Bartosz Bednorz rounded out the offense with six putaways.
Dmitriy Muserskiy accounted for 17 points to lead Russia, but his nearest help came from Alexander Markin and Romanas Shkulyavichus, who chipped in seven points apiece, including just five kills each. Muserskiy downed 14 kills and served up three of the team’s four aces, while Shkulyavichus put up two of the team’s five blocks.
Poland bested the Russians in all facets of the game: kills (39-22), blocks (11-5) and aces (8-4).
Poland built a 15-11 lead in Set 1 and cruised to the finish behind the 1-2 punch of Kubiak and Kaczmarek. In Set 2, the Polish side led by four early on, but that soon evaporated in a 10-all tie and 16-14 deficit. The teams were level at 22, before a block and a kill by Piotr Nowakowski helped seal the 25-23 win.
Poland grabbed a 17-12 lead in Set 3 and held on to close out the sweep. It did take the Poles until their third match-point try to finish it off, with a Kaczmarek kill issuing the final blow.
Canada def. South Korea 3-0
- Canada defeated South Korea 25-20, 25-17, 25-19
- Canada moved to 1-1 (3 points); South Korea moved to 0-2 (0 points)
Canada stifled the Korean offense with eight blocks and kept the team off balance with tough serving, including six aces, in a quick sweep and its first win of Volleyball Nations League action.
The Canadians won the stat sheet with a 37-35 lead in kills, 8-1 advantage in blocks and a 6-1 edge in aces.
Six players tallied three or more kills to lead a diverse Canadian attack with Stephen Maar and Graham Vigrass putting down nine apiece to lead the pack. Maar also paced the team in blocks with three, while Vigrass added two. Bradley Gunter chipped in six kills and a team-high two aces. Tyler Sanders also served up two aces.
Jiseok Jung scored 12 points, tying Maar for the match-high, putting down 11 kills and an ace. Kwang-In Jeon added seven putaways and Jae Duck Seo chipped in five. Min-Gyu Lee put up the lone block for the Japanese.
Canada led 13-8 in Set 1 as Gunter and Vigrass contributed offensively. Korea saved one set-point, but Gunter pounded down another kill to clinch the 25-20 win.
In an error riddled Set 2, Canada grabbed a slight 10-9 lead and held on despite Jung’ best efforts.
Serving woes prevented Korea from threatening in Set 3, which was won on a Nicolas Hoag stuff.
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