With the final week of the Women’s Volleyball Nations League beginning on Tuesday, two teams have clinched their spots in the Finals: China as the host and the USA with an 11-1 record through four weeks of play.
However, there are still six teams that are in play for the other four spots in the Finals and we will go through their scenarios for matchday 13 on June 12th.
Scenarios – June 12th, 2018 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League
1st Place – USA (11-1, 34 points), Clinched Berth in the Finals
USA will play Serbia. Right now the USA is clearly in 1st place with 1 win more win than Brazil, but more importantly 6 points more than Brazil, Serbia and Turkey. A USA win would mean that they would be at 37 points with 12 wins. A loss to Serbia would still keep the USA in first place by at least 3 points.
2nd Place – Brazil (10-2, 28 points)
Brazil play Belgium. Italy is the only team outside of the top 6, that can overtake Brazil. However, Brazil plays in the first match of the day and a WIN by Brazil will clinch their spot in the Finals. If Brazil LOSE, Italy MUST LOSE to clinch. Italy is 3 losses behind Brazil and with only 3 matches to play, they could not catch Brazil on wins.
3rd Place – Serbia (9-3, 28 points)
Serbia plays the USA. A Serbia WIN IN <5 SETS, clinches their berth in the Finals. If Serbia WIN IN 5 SETS, they would need an Italy LOSS, to clinch. If Serbia LOSE to the USA, Italy MUST LOSE to clinch their spot, 9 wins for Serbia to Italy’s 6 with 2 matches left.
4th Place – Turkey (9-3, 28 points)
Turkey plays the Netherlands. A Turkey WIN IN <5 SETS, clinches their berth in the Finals. If Turkey WIN IN 5 SETS, they would need an Italy LOSS, to clinch. If Turkey LOSE to the Netherlands, Italy MUST LOSE to clinch their spot, 9 wins for Turkey to Italy’s 6 with 2 matches left.
5th Place – Netherlands (9-3, 26 points)
Netherlands faces Turkey. A Netherlands WIN, combined with an Italy LOSS will clinch their berth in the Finals. A Netherlands loss, means that they cannot clinch on Tuesday.
6th Place – Italy (7-5, 21 points)
Italy plays Thailand. Italy 2 wins behind Serbia, Turkey and Netherlands. Italy is 3 wins behind Brazil. With only 3 matches remaining, a LOSS will eliminate them from the Finals.
7th Place – China (6-6, 20 points), Clinched Berth in the Finals as hosts
8th Place – Russia (6-6, 18 points)
Russia plays the Dominican Republic. Russia MUST WIN and have the Netherlands LOSE IN <5 SETS, to stay alive. If Netherlands vs. Turkey goes 5 SETS, Russia is eliminated if tied on wins and points with Netherlands, as the Netherlands will have a better sets ratio than Russia (1.304 to 1.208).
Poland, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Thailand and Argentina have been eliminated from Finals contention.
Relegation for Challengers
In the relegation battle for the 4 Challenger teams, Poland, Dominican Republic, Belgium and Argentina, it is pretty easy to determine.
Poland is in 9th place with 6 wins and 17 points. Belgium has 3 wins and 9 points, while the Dominican Republic has 2 wins and 8 points. Argentina has not won a match in their 12 attempts and have not even gone to 5 sets and have 0 points. With only 3 matches to play, Argentina would need to sweep their three matches, just to even have a chance to get out of last place. However, Argentina has South Korea, Serbia and the USA in their final week of play. I don’t see how they can pick up one point, let alone a win with their schedule.
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