Canada Closes Out VNL with Sweep; Serbia Wins Fifth Straight
Graham Vigrass turned in a match-high 18 points and the Canadians strong-armed Japan in blocks and aces in a sweep to round out their VNL campaign. Top scorer Drazen Luburic poured in 28 points and Serbia owned the net in a four-set win over host China on Sunday.
Serbia Tops Japan to Make Final Six; Canada Sweeps China
Serbia put up 10 blocks and had help from four double-digit scoring efforts in a four-set win over Japan to secure its spot in the VNL Final Six. Stephen Maar was back on his game for Canada with 16 points to lift his team to a sweep of China.
Serbia, China End Final Six Hope for Canada, Japan with Victories
A sweep at the hands of Serbia eliminated Canada from its outside shot at Final Six contention. Japan also was knocked out of the race as Chuan Jiang carried China to a four-set win over Japan with a 26-point effort.
Italian Offense, Aussie Defense Lead to #VNL Pool 13 Marathon Wins
Korea dominated the offensive side of the ball and Italy excelled at the net before the Italians eventually hung on for the five-set victory. In a match featuring three deuce sets, all in extra points, a 12-kill advantage was the difference in a four-set Australian win.
France Leads Four Teams at 8-2 Atop #VNL Standings Through Day 10
After 10 matches, four teams stand at 8-2, but Finals host France boasts the top spot in the standings with 25 points. Poland, Brazil and the United States follow.
Italy Wins 500th World Level Match; Australia Stuffs South Korea
In what was Italy’s 500th world level victory, the team rode a balanced scoring effort and strong net play to a four-set win over China to kick off VNL Week 4. Twelve blocks and 32 Korean miscues gifted Australia a four-set win on Friday.
DeSouza, Muserskiy Lead Brazil, Russia to #VNL Day 9 Wins
Brazil put down 21 more kills in the match, including 15 by Wallace DeSouza in a rout of China on Sunday to stay atop the VNL standings. Russia picked up its second straight home victory, besting Iran in every scoring category, while Dmitriy Muserskiy scored a match-high 24 points.
Brazil Squeaks Past Iran in 5; Karpukhov Guides Russia in Sweep
Thirteen blocks were not enough to lift Iran past a Brazilian side, which leaned on Douglas Souza and Wallace DeSouza in a five-set affair on Saturday. Meanwhile, Anton Karpukhov did it all for Russia, posting a match-high 21 points with 15 kills, four blocks and two aces, in a sweep of China.
Iran Blocks China in 3, Brazil Aces Russia in 4 Sets
Iran snapped a two-match losing streak with a dominant sweep of China, including 13 blocks. Brazil won its fifth-straight VNL match, keeping Russia off-balance with tough serving including 11 aces.
Osmany Juantorena and Ivan Zaytsev out for Italy in Week 3 of VNL
After scoring the majority of Italy’s points thus far in the VNL, Osmany Juantorena and Ivan Zaytsev will not be travelling with the team to Osaka, Japan in Week 3.
