Serbia Out To Defend World League Title, Starting With Team USA

2017 FIVB WORLD LEAGUE – GROUP 1

• Group 1
• July 4-8
• Curitiba, Brazil
• FIVB World League Finals
• Schedule/Results

Serbia finished in third place in the World League after three weeks of play and nine matches total. In their first week, they began the competition with a win over the United States, followed by a loss against Belgium and another win over Canada to go 2-1 after week one. Week two saw a sweep for the Serbian squad, taking down Iran, Argentina and Belgium in a revenge match. In the final week of play, Serbia finished third in their pool with a 1-2 record, losing to Bulgaria and Brazil, with a win over Argentina.

Last season, Serbia took the World League title, therefore, they will be looking to defend their title at the Final Six this week.

Key Contributors

• Marko Ivovic – Ivovic was Serbia’s top scorer in the competition with 108 points, putting him at #12 overall in the competition. He has put down 89 kills, eight blocks and 11 aces so far in the competition.
• Uros Kovacevic – Ranking just behind Ivovic was Kovacevic who ranks #13 overall in points with 104, including 88 kills, 11 blocks and five aces.
• Aleksandar Atanasijevic – A strong force for the Serbians, Atanasijevic will rejoin the squad after missing the final two weeks of the preliminary rounds of the World League. After the first week of play, Atanasijevic put down 28 total points on 27 kills and one ace.

The steady output from Ivovic and Kovacevic in the first three weeks of play helped the squad to the #3-seed in the competition. To stay a contender in the Final Six, they will need to continue to lead the team in points. With the addition of Atansijevic to the team for the Final Six, his presence on the opposite side will bring a boost of energy for the team, as he was named the Best Opposite at the 2015 edition of the World League.

Roster 

• Aleksandar Okolic
• Uros Kovacevic
• Milan Katic
• Nemanja Petric
• Aleksa Brdjovic
• Goran Skundric
• Marko Ivovic
• Nikola Jovovic
• Miran Kujundzic
• Maksim Buculjeic
• Aleksandar Blagojevic
• Stevan Simic
• Aleksandar Atanasijevic
• Drazen Luburic
• Neven Majstorovic
• Marko Podrascanin
• Srecko Lisinac
• Petar Krsmanovic

Final Six Play

#3 Serbia will take on #6-seeded USA on July 5, followed by #1-seeded France on July 6. Depending on the results of the first three days of play at the World League Final Six in Brazil, will determine which of the six teams will move on to the semifinals on July 7 then the finals on July 8.