Three conditions were to be met in order for Serbia to reach the semifinals of the 2021 Men’s VNL. And it failed to fulfill already the first one. The European champion did not manage to defeat Canada and then wait for the outcome of the matches France vs Poland and Brazil vs Russia.
Even though Serbia had a 2-0 lead in sets, Canada bounced back and turned the match around – 3-2 (17-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 17-15). Now, it is clear that Serbia’s defeat to Argentina on Day 12 was crucial and now there are three more teams that remained in contention for the two vacancies in the Final Four – Slovenia, France, and Russia, all yet to play their encounters. Canada completely out-blocked the last EuroVolley winner (19-9), with Steven Marshall standing out in this segment (6 blocks) and Ryan Sclater in offense (17 points), showing that the previous four wins in a row were everything by a coincidence for the North American side.
2021 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League – Day 15 (Week 5):
Australia – Netherlands 0-3 (23-25, 19-25, 19-25)
Canada – Serbia 3-2 (17-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20, 17-15)
USA – Japan 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20)
France – Poland, 3 p.m. CET
Iran – Argentina, 4 p.m. CET
Slovenia – Bulgaria, 6 p.m. CET
Italy – Germany, 7:30 p.m. CET
Brazil – Russia, 9 p.m. CET
