2023 VNL June 4: Japan, Türkiye First Loss

The Volleyball Nations League 2023 continued with an exciting matchday on the final day of week 1. In Nagoya, Brazil started the day with a convincing 3-0 victory (26-24, 25-18, 25-8) against Croatia. Ana Cristina de Souza was the star of the match, scoring an impressive 22 points to help Brazil secure their third victory. With this win, Brazil finished the week with 3 wins and 10 points, while Croatia ended their week 1 campaign winless after suffering their fourth straight set defeat.

The second match of the day in Nagoya saw Germany win a hard-fought battle against Bulgaria in five sets, with a final score of 3-2 (18-25, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 15-10). Germany finished the week with a 3-1 record and eight points, while Bulgaria ended their week 1 campaign with 1 win and 3 losses.

In the final match in Nagoya, two unbeaten Asian teams, China and Japan, faced off each other. The match ended with China winning 3-0 (25-18, 27-25, 27-25), finishing their week 1 campaign undefeated. Japan suffered their first loss and finished their week 1 campaign with a 3-1 record and nine points in front of their home fans.

In Antalya, Thailand started the day with a dominant 3-0 victory (25-17, 28-26, 25-21) against South Korea. According to Volleyball World, Thailand’s setter Pornpun Guedpard praised their teamwork and preparation, specifically crediting Thatdao’s strong block and Hattaya’s performance. Thailand achieved their goal of winning two matches for the week and plan to continue giving their best effort in the future. Meanwhile, South Korea ended their week 1 campaign winless after suffering their fourth straight set defeat.

In the second match of the day in Antalya, Canada defeated Serbia in a thrilling five-set match with a final score of 3-2 (18-25, 28-26, 25-23 18-25, 15-12). Canada finished their week 1 campaign with a 2-2 record and 6 points, while Serbia remained winless after four games.

The final match of week 1 was a clash between two unbeaten teams, USA and Türkiye. Despite Karakurt and Vargas scoring a match high of 26 and 25 points for Türkiye, USA won the match 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25, 15-9). With this win, USA finished their week 1 campaign with 4 wins and 9 points, while Türkiye finished their campaign with a 3-1 record and 10 points in front of their home fans.

The second week of the tournament will start on June 13. Teams will continue fighting for a spot in the final round across two pools in Hong Kong, China, and Brasilia, Brazil.

(Featured image source: Volleyball World)

(Written by Boris CHUNG Bok Man)