VNL 2024 June 15: Pool 5 Highlights and Interviews

Today’s article features highlights of June 15 from the VNL 2024 Week 3 Pool 5 in Hong Kong, based on the official press release, with editing and video interviews conducted and recorded by Boris CHUNG Bok Man, Volleypolis.

Organized by the Volleyball Association of Hong Kong, China (“VBAHK”) and presented by China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited (“China Life (Overseas)”), the “Volleyball Nations League Hong Kong 2024 presented by China Life (Overseas)” (“VNLHK2024”) featured the fifth day of matches today (June 15) at the Hong Kong Coliseum. In the first match, team Bulgaria came out on top over team Dominican Republic after a breathe-taking five set thriller, finishing their VNL 2024 campaign with a win. Team Poland also managed to defeat team Thailand successfully. As for the home team China, team China staged a stunning comeback after being two sets down against team Türkiye and secured their third consecutive win.

Team Dominican Republic and team Bulgaria faced each other in their final match of their respective VNL 2024 campaign today. The two teams took turns leading in sets, resulting in an intense battle that went down to the decisive fifth set. Although Team Dominican Republic was able to catch up in the fourth set, they were ultimately defeated by team Bulgaria with a set score of 2:3 (26:24, 23:25, 22:25, 26:24, 13:15), concluding their VNL 2024 campaign with 3 wins in 12 matches.

In the next match, team Poland faced off against team Thailand. They took the lead since the start of the match and never looked back, ultimately defeating their opponents on straight sets (25:15, 25:23, 25:17). With this victory, Team Poland currently holds a record of 2 wins and 1 loss in week 3, and both teams will play their final match tomorrow.

In the final match of the day, team China, who had already secured their Paris 2024 spot earlier , had a showdown with team Türkiye in the final match. Despite struggling in receiving and blocking in the first two sets, team China managed to strengthen their offense in the following three sets and staged an impressive comeback, winning the next three sets (21:25, 17:25, 25:21, 25:23, 15:13) to defeat team Türkiye. After the match, team Türkiye lost their no. 1 spot in the FIVB World Rankings.

Tomorrow will be the final day of VNL 2024, and three matches will be held in pool 5 in Hong Kong. The first match between team Germany and team Thailand will kick off at 1:30 PM. Then, team Brazil will then face the Team Türkiye at 5 PM, aiming to be the first ever invincible team in the preliminary round of VNL. The final match will take place at 8:30 PM, with team China going against team Poland.

Video interviews of the matchday:

(Boris CHUNG Bok Man, Volleypolis, has edited the press release issued on behalf of the Volleyball Nations League Hong Kong 2024 organizing committee by Yello Marketing and incorporated video interviews)