Tandara Caixeta’s Week 3 Points Nearly Double Week 1 & 2 Combined

In the first 2 weeks of the 2018 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League, Brazil’s Tandara Caixeta scored 91 points.

In the 11 sets she played in 3 matches in week 3 alone, she nearly doubled that total with 87 points to climb into 2nd place in individual scoring as the tournament passes its halfway points.

That includes a pair of 30 point games, with 31 against the Netherlands in 4 sets on Tuesday, and 34 in 4 sets against Korea on Thursday. The tournament’s overall scoring leader, Malwina Smarzek of Poland, put in two 30-point matches in the same week in week 2 against Thailand and China.

Asian teams have been particularly susceptible to giving up 30-point games so far in this year’s tournament: out of the 9 30-point games recorded so far, 7 have been against teams from the Asian Confederation.

30 Point Matches Allowed, 2018 FIVB Nations League:

• China – 2
• Thailand – 2
• South Korea – 2
• Japan – 1
• Netherlands – 1
• Germany – 1

Other Key Stats After Week 3:

• Two of the world’s biggest offensive weapons made their debuts in week 3 of the tournament. Italian opposite Paola Egonu had 70 points in 3 matches (53 kills, 10 blocks, 7 aces) and hit 43.8%. China’s Zhu Ting had 50 points, with 41 kills, 8 blocks, and 1 ace in her team’s 3 matches, hitting 47.7%. Egonu had the upper-hand when the two went head-to-head: she had 27 points to just 12 for Zhu, and Italy cruised to a relatively-comfortable 3-1 victory.
• American Carli Lloyd continues to dominate the running sets category, averaging 14.37/set. No other player in the tournament is averaging more than 10.59 (Ilka van de Vyver, Belgium). Running sets are defined as sets where the receiving hitter is opposed by one-or-fewer blockers, which is considered a favorable matchup for the offense.
• Poland’s Malwina Smarzek has 214 points, which is 104 points more than her next-closest teammate Agniezska Kakolewska (110 points) – the biggest gap of any country. Smarzek’s output is so huge, though, that they’re still the highest-scoring combination of teammates, by 41 points.
• Americans Jordan Larson and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley each had 4-ace games in week 3, each coming in 3-setters. The Americans still sit middle-of-the-pack in that category as a team, however, behind Serbia, who leads all teams with 59 aces (7.69% of their serves). Serbia has been aggressive, and also leads all teams with 102 service errors. Team service chart through week 3 is below:
  

  Team	Aces	Errors	Attempts	In %	Ace %
  SRB	59	102	767	86.70%	7.69%
  RUS	56	81	740	89.05%	7.57%
  POL	57	78	765	89.80%	7.45%
  KOR	47	48	649	92.60%	7.24%
  TUR	57	77	792	90.28%	7.20%
  GER	50	88	720	87.78%	6.94%
  BEL	43	62	639	90.30%	6.73%
  ITA	46	100	698	85.67%	6.59%
  THA	47	74	734	89.92%	6.40%
  USA	46	63	722	91.27%	6.37%
  NED	43	72	740	90.27%	5.81%
  BRA	45	54	788	93.15%	5.71%
  CHN	37	50	695	92.81%	5.32%
  DOM	34	77	655	88.24%	5.19%
  JPN	24	61	664	90.81%	3.61%
  ARG	18	64	523	87.76%	3.44%

Statistical Leaders after Week 3 of the 2018 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League

Top Scorers

1. Malwina Smarzek, Poland – 214 points
2. Tandara Caixeta, Brazil – 178 points
3. Louisa Lippmann, Germany – 176 points
4. Brayelin Martinez, Dominican Republic – 154
5. Tijana Boskovic, Serbia – 152

Top Hitting Percentages

1. Tijana Boskovic, Serbia – 52.00%
2. Irina Voronkova, Russia – 48.25%
3. Tandara Caixeta, Brazil – 46.20%
4. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, USA – 45.96%
5. Brankica Mihaljovic, Serbia – 45.27%

Best Blockers (Blocks)

1. Agnieszka Kakolewska, Poland – 32 blocks, .91/set
2. Ana Beatriz Correa, Brazil – 28 blocks, .85/set
3. Eda Erdem Dundar, Turkey – 28 blocks
4. Adenizia Da Silva, Brazil – 25 blocks
5. (TIE) Marie Scholzel, Germany/Lisa Grunding, Germany – 24 blocks

Best Servers (Aces)

1. Eda Erdem Dundar, Turkey – 15 aces
2. Marlena Plesnierowicz, Poland – 14 aces
3. (TIE)Jordan Larson, USA/Irina Voronkova, Russia/Brankica Mihaljovic, Serbia – 13 aces

Best Setters (Running Sets – where hitter is opposed by one blocker or less)

1. Carli Lloyd, USA – 431
2. Ilka van de Vyver, Belgium – 339
3. Niverka Dharlenis Marte Frica, Dominican Republic – 298
4. Clarisa Sagarida, Argentina – 269
5. Roberta Silva Ratzke, Brazil – 267

Best Diggers (Digs)

1. Maret Balkestein-Grothues, Netherlands – 58
2. Celine van Gestel, Belgium – 48
3. Yuki Ishii, Japan – 47
4. (TIE) Carli Lloyd, USA/Kelsey Robinson, USA – 46

Best Receivers (Excellent %, eligible players)

1. Kim Hill, USA – 22.39%
2. Britt Herbots, Belgium – 20.97%
3. Celine van Gestel, Belgium – 17.73%
4. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, USA – 17.23%
5. Anne Buijs, Netherlands – 15.71%