The first two days of the 2024 Volleyball Nations League didn’t disappoint because volleyball fans were treated to high-quality action, particularly from some of the competition’s best teams.
The Netherlands got on board first with a straight-sets victory over Bulgaria to kick off the action in Rio de Janeiro. And on the second day, Brazil, China, and Poland followed suit with opening wins of their own.
We are just getting started, as France will take on Germany later, while Japan, Thailand, and Serbia will open their campaigns against Turkey, the USA, and the Dominican Republic tomorrow, which means more Volleyball Nations League 2024 highlights for us to enjoy.
But, for now, continue reading below, as SBOTOP is here to recap what happened on the second day of the biggest volleyball showcase.
Brazil’s opening win sparked by key comeback
Volleyball fans watching live in the Maracanazinho Stadium were having a ball as they saw Brazil beat Canada 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 26-24, 25-12) on Tuesday night. The win gave them three points in the Volleyball Nations League standings, and they stay in third place in the FIVB World Rankings.
The Brazilians were fueled by the national team return of Ana Cristina Souza, who missed last year’s tournament due to a knee injury after the first week and the majority of the club season with Fenerbahce. The 20-year-old outside hitter recorded a team-high 20 points, including 17 kills, two aces, and one block.
Middle blocker Diana Duarte and team captain Gabi Guimaraes each had 13 points for Brazil to backstop Souza. Brazil also had more blocks than Canada (15 to 5), with Duarte notching five.
After losing the first set, Canada came back when they went on a 6-3 run in the second set. However, from there, Brazil took over and never looked back as Canada ran out of gas.
Skipper and outside hitter Alexa Gray tallied 23 points (21 kills, one ace, one block) for Canada, while opposite Kiera Van Ryk added 18 points (16 kills, two aces) in the losing effort.
Because they took a set from Brazil, the Canadians remained in 11th place in the FIVB World Rankings since the loss only cost them 2.85 points.
China win Asian Derby over Korea Republic
China improved their Volleyball Nations League 2024 odds of securing their Paris Olympics berth after they defeated the Korea Republic 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-14). With the victory, the Chinese earned three points in the Volleyball Nations League standings and 0.93 points in the FIVB World Rankings. On the other hand, the Koreans dropped from 40th to 41st as a result.
China dominated the Asian Derby because they were simply better on the attack and defence, notching 44 attacks (compared to 20 for Korea) and 12 blocks (compared to 6 for Korea).
Li Yingying led the way for the Chinese with a match-high 17 points (16 kills, one block), while fellow outside hitter Wu Mengjie added 14 points.
This match also featured the return of Zhang Changning to the Chinese national team for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics. The 28-year-old outside hitter suffered multiple injuries over the last three years, and she came off the bench during the third set against Korea.
Zhu Ting, on the other hand, didn’t play on Tuesday because she is still working her way to 100-per cent fitness. However, the 29-year-old outside hitter is expected to be available in the second leg of the Volleyball Nations League.
As for the Koreans, outside hitter So-Hwi Kang topped the scoring charts with 12 points (nine kills, two aces, and one block).
Poland wreck Italy to move up
Italy’s quest to secure a berth in the Paris Olympics was hit with a major snag as Poland shut them out 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-21) on Tuesday. Because of the result, Poland improved to fifth in the FIVB World Rankings with a 10.63-point haul, while Italy dropped to seventh.
Magdalena Stysiak produced a match-high 17 points (15 kills, one ace, one block), while Natalia Medrzyk and Martyna Lukasik had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Poles.
Poland turned to their defence to stifle Italy in what was a competitive match, especially when the Italians were threatening to come back at different points of the match. Middle blocker and captain Agnieszka Korneluk spearheaded their defence with five kill blocks en route to 11 points. Italian opposite Ekaterina Antropova tallied a team-high 16 points, while outside hitter Caterina Bosetti and middle blocker Anna Danesi had 10 points apiece in the losing effort.
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