Poland, Italy, Brazil, and Japan are the four teams left here in the 2024 Volleyball Nations League after going through a grueling month full of volleyball action, playing in six different countries.
Poland are fresh from surviving a thrilling five-setter against Turkey on Friday, while their upcoming opponents, Italy, defied the SBOTOP Volleyball Nations League 2024 odds when they eliminated the USA during the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Japan and Brazil will face off on the other side of the bracket after securing convincing victories over their Asian counterparts in the previous round.
Because all of them made it this far, they have also guaranteed their spots in the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris. Brazil, Poland, and Japan are in Pool B, while Italy are in Pool C.
Poland survive Turkey onslaught
Fans over in Bangkok were lucky to witness one of the most fun matches in this year’s tournament, as Poland and Turkey treated them to a five-set spectacle, where the former won with a score of 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 15-11).
After losing the opening set, Poland regained the advantage by winning the second and third sets, but Turkey forced a fifth. In the penultimate set, Turkey clawed their way back from a five-point deficit at 12-7 to within one, but Poland responded with three straight points to close out the game.
With the victory, Poland are through to the Volleyball Nations League semi-finals for only the second time in history after their bronze medal finish last year, their first medal in the competition.
On the other hand, this also means that Turkey are no longer the reigning champions of the Volleyball Nations League.
Opposite Magdalena Stysiak led the Poles with 17 points (12 kills, three blocks, two aces). Outside hitters Martyna Lukasik and Martyna Czyrnianska had 14 points apiece, while middle blocker Agnieszka Korneluk added 13 points (six kills, four blocks, three aces).
Melissa Vargas notched an amazing 39 points for Turkey in the losing effort (29 kills, seven blocks, three aces), while Ebrar Karakurt was the team’s second-leading scorer with 14 points (11 kills, one block, two aces).
Italy score huge upset against the USA
Italy caught everyone by surprise when they tallied one of the most surprising Volleyball Nations League 2024 results so far, eliminating the USA with a score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23) on Friday to qualify for the Volleyball Nations League semi-finals for only the second time in history.
The last time they did it was in 2022, when they went all the way to bring home the gold.
The Stars and Stripes and reigning Olympic champions were better at spiking and serving, but the Italians were better at blocking and making fewer mistakes. In this game, Italy only had 10 unforced errors compared to the USA’s 23, which made a huge difference in this contest.
Paola Egonu was the Player of the Match for Italy, as she fired a match-high 20 points (17 kills, two blocks, one ace), including a 53-per cent spiking success rate and the match-winning score. Outside hitter Myriam Sylla also reached double digits for Italy with 10 points (nine kills, one block).
Avery Skinner was the lone double-digit scorer for the USA with 11 points (10 kills, one ace). Middle blocker Haleigh Washington was right behind her with nine points (six kills, three blocks).
Japan and Brazil flex on their opponents
Japan defeated China with a score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) to move on to the Volleyball Nations League semi-finals for the second time in history and first since 2021, when they finished in fourth place.
Team captain Sarina Koga had a match-high 22 points (21 kills, one ace), while fellow outside hitter Mayu Ishikawa notched 14 points (13 kills, one ace).
China were mostly without their biggest stars, so their youngsters were outmatched by Japan in the quarter-finals.
21-year-old Zhuang Yushan led all Chinese scorers with 12 points (11 kills, one block), while team captain Zhang Changning had 11 points (eight kills, one block, two aces) in the losing effort.
Despite having the home court advantage, Thailand bowed out of the tournament after losing to Brazil 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-23).
Gabriela Guimaraes was, once again, the star for Brazil, as she topped the scoring charts with 16 points on a 53-per cent success rate. Ana Cristina and Rosamaria Montibeller were the other double-digit scorers for the team, at 14 and 11, respectively.
Thailand’s top scorer was the young Chatchu-On Moksri, who produced 14 points (11 kills, one block, two aces).
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