Second defeat for Italy in the Volleyball Nations League. Slovenia showed a better performance than the rejuvenated team of Italy and won 3: 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15.
Italia-Slovenia 0-3 (23-25, 19-25, 15-25)
This was the second defeat for Italy, but as we wrote earlier, such an outcome shouldn’t come as a surprise given that Italians decided to send their “B” squad to Rimini.
Gianluca Galassi (Italy): “This is our second loss at this tournament, but it’s just the beginning. We will try to play better. I think there is no excuse, because we could say we are young and it’s the first time for many of us, but we all, every single one of us, can play at a high level and we should show other teams and everyone else that we can play at this level.”
Ziga Stern (Slovenia): “I’m very happy that we managed to step up together as a team. I’m also very happy for our historic first win at the VNL for Slovenia. This is a big day, but we will not stop. There are a lot of matches ahead, so we are eager for more wins. I feel amazing with these guys, we are a group of friends on the court and outside the court, so it’s really a great feeling.”
In other matches played so far, Poland beat Serbia 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15), Bulgaria beat Australia 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) and Canada defeated Argentina 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17). In the last game of the day, Brazil defeated USA 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-19).
May 29, 2021:
Germany – France 2-3 (25-22 22-25 25-22 16-25 15-17)
Iran – Russia 1-3 (17-25 25-20 20-25 17-25)
The Netherlands – Japan 2-3 (25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 17-25, 8-15)
Italia-Slovenia 0-3 (23-25, 19-25, 15-25)
Poland – Serbia 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15)
Bulgaria – Australia 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20)
Canada – Argentina 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17)
USA – Brazil 0-3 (22-25, 23-25, 19-25)
