2017 WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONS CUP
- Women – September 5-9
- Men – September 12-17
- Nagoya and Osaka, Japan
- Women – Schedule/Results
- Men – Schedule
- Power Rankings
After shutting out France on day one, Brazil is looking to pick up their second win at the 2017 World Grand Champions Cup over Italy, who dropped their first match to Iran in five. This match will be a replay of the 2016 Rio Olympic finals match, where Brazil took the crown with a 3-0 victory.
The match will be the fourth encounter of the two teams at the competition with all three previous meetings going to five, with Brazil leading the charge with a 2-1 record.
Brazil is led by Ricardo Lucarelli Souza who put down 15 points on day one with Lucas Saatkamp coming in with another 12 points. Wallace de Souza was fairly quiet in the opening match, putting down just nine points, all on kills. These three players will be looked at by the team to lead them through the rest of the tournament.
Despite having some strong player presence on the court, Italy was unable to handle Iran in their first match. Filippo Lanza led the charge and the entire field with 23 points while Oleg Antonov added another 18 including four aces. Daniele Mazzone was another dominant force for the Italian side, as he posted 13 points with six kills, six blocks and one ace.
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