Brazil, the silver medalists from the previous two competitions, defeated Serbia, the defending world champions, 3-1 (14-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-19) on Saturday in Ankara’s first semifinal to progress to their third straight VNL final.
Kisy Nascimento, a Brazilian player, led all scorers with 19 points in the opening semifinal game. Ana Bjelica, a Serbian player, came in second with 17 points. Brazil’s victory was primarily attributed to its outside hitters Julia Bergmann and captain Gabriela Guimaraes, who each scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, center Ana Carolina Da Silva had another strong outing in the manner of blocking, this time saving six balls for a 13-point total. A total of 15 points were scored in the match by Serbian middle Jovana Stevanovic, who also had two aces and four kill blocks.
“It was about trusting each other. We lost the first set because we didn’t play in our rhythm, but then we found it in the second and we fought for every ball. We were behind at some moments in the sets, but we fought and all together we got to 3-1. And it’s amazing! We are in the final! For me it’s amazing to be here! Playing in the VNL is a great opportunity to play on a high level,” Julia Bergmann, outside hitter of Brazil.
