The Dutch National Team stunned Russia on Day 3 of the 2021 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League in the Rimini bubble (Italy).
Even though they didn’t achieve a straight-set win, The Netherlands rather convincingly prevailed over Russia on the third day of the 2021 Women’s VNL. The team commanded by Avital Selinger imposed dominance on the superpower in large parts of the game.
Russia’s head coach Sergio Busato was, for instance, forced to change almost the entire lineup at one point to instill elan in his team, which resulted only in taking the third set. The revival of ‘‘Zbornaya’ turned out to be short-lived: 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20). It was a team effort of ‘Oranje’ given that as many as five of their players finished the match in double-digits on the scoresheet, led by Indy Baijens (16 points, including 4 blocks).
Kim Yeon-Koung (11 points) returned to the roster for South Korea but she was powerless, just as her teammates, against Asian rivals Japan: 0-3 (18-25, 18-25, 25-27). Thus, the national team of the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ reached third win in as many games – all achieved against rivals from the continent. It’s a record that not many expected. Sarina Koga stood out in Japan with 20 points.
Lina Alsmeier (14 points) pushed Germany to a straight-set victory (the second victory in a row in the tournament) against Belgium. Jennifer Janiska added 4 blocks. Britt Herbots scored 12 for the ‘Yellow Tigers’ who are still winless.
2021 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League – Day 3:
Germany – Belgium 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-13)
Russia – Netherlands 1-3 (14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 20-25)
Korea – Japan 0-3 (18-25, 18-25, 25-27)
Canada vs Dominican Republic, 3 p.m. CET
China vs Thailand, 4 p.m. CET
Poland vs Turkey, 6 p.m. CET
Brazil vs USA, 7:30 p.m. CET
Serbia vs Italy, 9 p.m. CET
