17/06/2017 12:06
World League - June 16 - Serbia qualify for Final Six; France suffer first loss
News from the FIVB
Lausanne, Switzerland, June 16, 2017. Drazen Luburic was the top scorer as Serbia qualified for Group 1’s Final Six in the FIVB World League with a tense 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 28-30, 15-12) victory over Argentina in Cordoba on Friday.
Meanwhile, Canada strengthened their chances with a five-set (25-23, 25-13, 24-26, 22-25, 15-10) victory over Belgium in Antwerp, while Final Six hosts Brazil breezed past Bulgaria 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-22), also in Cordoba.
In the day’s other Group 1 match in Antwerp, Italy got the better of France in another pulsating five-setter: 20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14.
There were six matches in Group 2, with leaders Slovenia earning maximum points in a spellbinding match against Egypt in Cairo. The overall score was 3-0, but the set scores tell a different story: 25-23, 39-37, 25-23. Behind Slovenia, the Netherlands and Australia both raised their records to 5-2 on the back of very different wins.
The Dutch had few problems defeating Korea 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) in The Hague, but Japan pushed Australia to the limit in Kunshan, China, with the Aussies prevailing 3-2 (29-27, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-9). Japan fell to 4-3 but are fourth in the Group 2 standings.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia are also on 4-3 after the two neighbouring countries clashed in The Hague, with the Czechs easing to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17) victory.
China leapfrogged opponents Turkey into seventh place with a 3-0 victory in Kunshan. Again, the scoreline does not tell the whole story until you add the set scores: 43-41, 26-24, 25-21. The day’s other Group 2 match saw Portugal beat Finland 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22) in Cairo.
There were no Group 3 matches on Friday as the competition has reached its final stage. Saturday’s semi-finals will see hosts Mexico take on Estonia, while Germany will face Spain in an all-European clash.
Saturday sees some huge Group 1 matches on the schedule, including:
Argentina v Brazil
Italy v Belgium
USA v Russia
France v Canada.
For further information visit www.fivb.com
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