The Serbia Men’s National Team has started contesting in the 2021 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League in a victorious way, beating Slovenia in the replay of the finals of the last European Championship.
Serbia made their debut in the 2021 Men’s VNL in the Rimini bubble (Italy) in a shaky manner, losing the first set to Slovenia in the duel of the finalists of the EuroVolley 2019. The turning point for the champions of the ‘Old Continent’ was the fantastic third set in which a total of 70 points was played.
In the end, it was 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 36-34, 25-18) for the team under the command of Slobodan Kovač, who will certainly be concerned over the seemingly serious injury of Srećko Lisinac in the first set after which he didn’t return to the court. Dražen Luburić top-scored Serbia with 29 points. Uroš Kovačević and Marko Podraščanin made 4 blocks apiece.
The Dutch National Team relied heavily on their bomber Nimir Abdel-Aziz against Russia but that was enough only to rip one set off the titleholders. One of the best opposite hitters in the world tallied 29 points in which he incorporated as many as 6 aces. Maksim Mikhaylov scored 24 points and Ilia Vlasov 6 blocks for ‘Zbornaya’.
The USA swept Canada in the NORCECA classic, being cornered in the second set but rather easily taking first and second sets: 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-20). Torey Defalco stood out in the US squad with 15 points.
2021 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Day 1:
France – Bulgaria 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-23)
Germany – Australia 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16)
Japan – Iran 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 26-24)
Serbia – Slovenia 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 36-34, 25-18)
Netherlands – Russia 1-3 (19-25, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25)
USA – Canada 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-20)
Poland – Italy, 7:30 p.m. CET
Brazil vs Argentina, 9 p.m. CET
