2018 FIVB WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL NATIONS LEAGUE – WEEK 3 / POOL 9
- May 29-31, 2018
- Omnisport Apeldoorn (Capacity: 2,000) | Apeldoorn, Netherlands
- Time Zone: GMT + 2
- World Rankings: #4 Brazil, #8 Netherlands, #10 South Korea, #22 Poland
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- Schedule/Results
Brazil def. Korea 3-1
- Brazil defeated Korea 25-11, 25-14, 31-33, 25-20
- Brazil moved to 6-1 (18 points); Korea moved to 4-3 (11 points)
Tandara Caixeta racked up 33 points to lead Brazil in an all-around effort in the team’s four-set win over South Korea.
Caixeta downed 27 kills, served up five aces and added a block to lead the way for the Brazilians. Ana Beatriz Correa chipped in 19 points, with 11 kills, a team-high seven blocks and an ace, while Adenizia Da Silva added 10 points (5 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces). Drussyla Costa and Amanda Francisco posted seven kills apiece in supporting roles.
Jeongah Park led four Korean players with double-digit scoring efforts. Park tallied 19 points (18 kills, 1 block), while Sohwi Kang (13), Jaeyeong Lee (11) and Heejin Kim (10) followed. Kang notched 12 kills, while Lee added 10. Kim chipped in six kills and added a team-best three aces and a block.
Brazil bested Korea in all statistical categories: kills (60-50), blocks (13-4), aces (11-6) and points off errors (22-18).
Brazil crushed Korea offensively en route to an 18-7 lead in Set 1, before capping the 14-point win at 25-11 on a stuff by Da Silva.
The Koreans led by as many as four (10-6) in Set 2, before Brazil turned things around, tying it up at 10 and again at 14. From there, Brazil shut Korea down in a 25-14 win.
After trailing 3-0 early, Korea surged ahead 12-8 in Set 3. Brazil surged behind Caixeta and earned a 20-19 advantage of its own. The see-saw battle continued with Korea going up 22-20. Korea saved five Brazilian match-point tries before stealing away the 33-31 win to extend the match.
The Koreans carried the momentum to a 7-4 lead in Set 4. Brazil called timeout and came back to tie it up at 10 all on a Costa block. Beatriz Correa put Brazil in front 16-15 and another blow by Caixeta gave the team a 20-17 lead en route to a 25-20 win and the match.
Netherlands def. Poland 3-0
- Netherlands 25-22, 25-22, 27-25
- Netherlands moved 6-1 (17 points); Poland moved to 2-5 (5 points)
Poland had managed double-digit blocking tallies in its previous six VNL matches, but managed just four in a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands on Tuesday.
The Polish side also gave away 21 points on errors (to 16 by the Dutch), but edged the Netherlands in kills (46-45) and aces (4-3) in the loss, which gave the country its first three-match losing streak since the 2014 World Grand Prix.
Lonneke Sloetjes (16), Yvon Belien (14) and Maret Balkestein-Grothues (11) led the way for the Netherlands, each turning in double-digit point tallies. Sloetjes notched a team-high 15 kills and an ace, while Belein added 12 kills and two blocks. Balkestein-Grothues chipped in nine putaways, a block and an ace.
The VNL’s top scorer Malwina Smarzek continued to carry the load for Poland with a team-best 15 points (13 kills, 2 blocks), while Agnieszka Kakolewska and Martyna Grajber chipped in 10 points apiece. Kakolewska notched seven kills, two blocks and an ace, while Grajber added eight kills and two of the team’s four aces.
The Dutch boasted a 16-10 lead in Set 1 only to see it evaporate down to one (23-22) as Smarzek and Kakolewska led the rally. In the end, the Netherlands offense prevailed in a 25-22 win.
After falling behind 7-2 in Set 2, Poland scored nine of the next 12 to grab an 11-10 lead of its own. Trailing 17-14, the Dutch turned it on with a 9-5 run to vault ahead 23-21 en route to a 25-22 victory.
Set 3 looked to be well in hand for the Dutch, leading 16-9 at the second technical timeout, but Poland chipped away, eventually tying the score at 23. The Polish team thwarted two Netherlands match-point tries, but couldn’t force a fourth set, falling 27-25.
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