#VNL Pool 20 Preview: France, Italy, Russia, USA

  0 Wendy Mayer | June 21st, 2018 | European volleyball, FIVB Nations League - Men, International Volleyball, News, NORCECA volleyball, U.S. Men's National Team

2018 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Week 5, Pool 20

  • June 22-24, 2018
  • Pala Panini; Modena, Italy
  • Time Zone: UTC + 2 (Eastern Time +6)
  • World Rankings: No. 2 USA, No. 4 Russia, No. 4 Italy, No. 9 France
  • Schedule/Results

With the top three teams in the VNL standings plus seventh place Italy in Pool 20, it could be considered the group of death in terms of toughness.

France is on a six-match win streak, while the Americans and Russians have each won their last five. Italy went 2-1 last weekend in South Korea, dropping its final match 3-1 against Australia.

France is into the Final Six as the host team, so it is safe regardless of the results. The USA is 10-2 (29 points) with Russia right on its heels at 9-3 (28 points). Both should be safely in to the Final Six by virtue of having eight or more victories and three teams below them in the current top six, but will punch their ticket with a victory of three or four sets (3 points). Seedings also are at stake.

Italy has an uphill battle due to the competition, but is within striking distance of the top six in seventh place (7-5, 21 points), just a few points and one win behind Brazil (4th, 8-4, 24 points), Poland (5th, 8-4, 23 points) and Serbia (6th, 8-4, 20 points). The Italians will have a hefty home crowd on its side.

 

Schedule

Date Local Time Eastern Time (USA) Home Visitor
June 22. 5:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. USA France
June 22. 8:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Italy Russia
June 23. 5:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. USA Russia
June 23. 8:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Italy France
June 24. 5:30 p.m. 11:30 a.m. France Russia
June 24. 8:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Italy USA

 

Standings

With just France having punched its ticket to the VNL Final Six, by virtue of acting as the host nation, the race is still wide open. Nine points are available per team with three matches left. As it stands, it will take at least eight wins to earn a Final Six berth, leaving 12 teams in play, although several would need help to break through due to the points tallies.

Brazil, Poland and Serbia are in the most precarious positions among the current Top 6 with 24, 23 and 20 points respectively. Italy is just one match out at 7-5 with 21 points in its pocket. Canada sits in eighth at 6-6, but boast 18 points. Italy must win at least one match to stay in it and hope for help from Brazilian, Polish and Serbian losses.

Matches Pts Sets Points
Rank Team W L W L Ratio W L Ratio
1  France 10 2 30 32 11 2.909 1038 906 1.146
2  United States 10 2 29 32 13 2.462 1048 927 1.131
3  Russia 9 3 28 30 11 2.727 990 897 1.104
4  Brazil 8 4 24 28 17 1.647 1041 985 1.057
5  Poland 8 4 23 25 16 1.563 972 892 1.090
6  Serbia 8 4 20 24 22 1.091 1011 1016 0.995
7  Italy 7 5 21 27 22 1.227 1108 1074 1.032
8  Canada 6 6 18 21 21 1.000 1013 1021 0.992
9  Japan 6 6 15 21 28 0.750 1052 1095 0.961
10  Germany 5 7 17 21 25 0.840 1012 1029 0.983
11  Bulgaria 5 7 15 20 26 0.769 1028 1094 0.940
12  Australia 5 7 14 20 26 0.769 998 1042 0.958
13  Iran 4 8 13 20 26 0.769 1047 1070 0.979
14  Argentina 2 10 9 17 30 0.567 1029 1095 0.940
15  China 2 10 6 11 32 0.344 931 1040 0.895
16  South Korea 1 11 5 8 33 0.242 851 986 0.863

 

Pool Preview

All four teams are among the FIVB Top 10, including three among the Top 5. All four teams are among the VNL top seven with a legitimate shot at the Final Six. It will be interesting to see what lineups teams utilize if and when they secure their spots in the finals, especially with Italy waiting in the wings.

In addition to the top teams, the pool also features some of the best players in the competition. Russia boasts two of the top five scorers in VNL play in Dmitry Muserskiy (173) and Egor Kliuka (155). Muserskiy is tops in kill efficiency at 67.33 percent, while France’s Stephen Boyer (53.57%), Italy’s Ivan Zaytsev (53.44%) and USA’s Matt Anderson (52.88%) are right behind. Russia also includes two of the top five blockers in Muserskiy (2nd, 0.61 per set) and Ilya Vlasov (5th, 0.54).

 

Stories/Players to Watch

  • Russia: While Muserskiy and Kliuka have top scored for Russia, Romanas Shkulyavichus stepped into the spotlight on Week 4. Keep an eye out for the opposite to step up especially as opponents key their block on the other two.
  • Italy: Opposite Ivan Zaytsev and setter Simone Gianelli will be back in the fold for Week 5, but the team will be without the services of Osmany Juantorena for the second straight week. Starting libero Massimo Colaci also is back in the lineup to bolster the team’s hopes of a push for the Final Six. Without Zaytsev and Juantorena, Gabriele Maruotti, Simone Anzani and Gabriele Nelli paced the team on Week 4, giving depth that could be key in tough matches.
  • USA: Recent BYU grad Brenden Sander makes his national team roster debut this week after the loss of Thomas Jaeschke to injury in Chicago. It is unknown if Sander will see the court as TJ DeFalco stepped into Jaeschke’s spot in the lineup last week.
  • France: The French took the opportunity to rest various players including top scorer Stephen Boyer as well as Julien Lyneel, Earvin Ngapeth, Jean Patry and Kevin Tillie, during Week 4 matches. Since the team is already in the Final Six as the host, the team may opt to utilize its depth once again to have more players fresh for the finals.

 

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About Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer has worked in athletics media relations for the last 20 years. The Northwest Missouri State alumna is currently senior writer for Volleymob.com after spending the last 15 years with Purdue athletics.

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