WWGCC: “Sborna” without key players and without results

Russian team without Natalya Obmochaeva and Tatiana Kosheleva isn’t so strong as it was throughout Euro Volley. Today after absorbing match “Sborna” lost with USA. In Latinamerican battle winner is Brazil, while Asian duel is quicky victory by “Nippon”.

Today results:

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – BRAZIL 1-3 (20-25 15-25 25-22 19-25) MVP: Fabiola
Dominican Republic: Marte Frica, De La Cruz De Peńa (21), Vargas Valdez (4), Mambru Casilla (9), Rivera Brens (13), Arias Perez (5), Castillo (L) and Martinez, Echenique Medina (1), Binet Stephens, Rodriguez Santos (4), Fersola Norberto (1)
Brazil: Fabiola (2), Fernanda Garay (13), Fabiana (13), Sheilla (20), Natalia (10), Walewska (6), Fabi (L) and Michelle, Monique (1), Claudia, Tandara (4), Carol Gattaz

The Olympic champions and world’s top ranked team improved their lifetime record against Dominican Republic to 15-0 in FIVB competitions. Bethania De La Cruz of the Dominican Republic was the top scorer in the match with 21 points, while the top scorer for Brazil was Sheilla Castro with 20 points. Natalia Pereira and Fernanda Garay each registered 13 points for the winners. Dominicans Prisilla Rivera and Gina Mambru finished with 13 and 9 points, respectively. Brazil outblocked the Dominicans 11-7, while both teams earned three service points. The Dominicans committed 28 errors to Brazil’s 21.

Neither team got into a good rhythm early on but the Dominicans had a good three-point spurt to go two points ahead at 7-5. Despite a fine ace by Annerys Vargas, the Dominicans’ serving let them down too often. For Brazil, Fernanda Rodrigues landed some heavy hits, while Prisilla Rivera also showed her power for the Dominicans. A huge blast by Rivera pulled her team to within a point at 16-15, but from then on the Brazilians pulled away. Dominican Republic coach Marcos Kwiek called timeouts at 18-15 and 20-16 but some robust hitting by Fabiana Claudino steered Brazil into a 1-0 lead.

An ace by Walewska Oliveira helped Brazil into an early three-point lead in the second set and they stretched that to six points at 11-5 before a sharp shot from Candida Arias put the brakes on. Brenda Castillo the showed why she is one of the best liberos in the world with three sensational digs and De La Cruz landed some good hits, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Brazilians. A thumping drive by Tandara Caixeta brought up setpoint and a Fabiana shot sealed the set, putting Brazil 2-0 up.

The Dominicans dug in at the start of the third set with Gina Mambru landing a couple of big blows and they played with more confidence than in the second set while the Brazilians started to make errors. Two good serves by De La Cruz helped put the Dominicans 16-14 ahead at the second technical timeout and after a netted shot by Walweska, Brazil coach Ze Roberto called his first timeout of the match. Rivera then stretched her team’s lead to four points at 18-14 with a crisp kill. Both teams started to fight hard, but the Dominicans weren’t about to give up their lead. They were five points ahead at 23-18 after a long shot by Caixeta and earned four setpoints after a spike by De La Cruz through the Brazilian block. Brazil pulled two points back before a mixup handed the set to the Dominican Republic.

The Dominicans failed to capitalise on their good form in the third set and allowed Brazil to quickly establish a four-point lead at 6-2 in the fourth set. But then the Brazilians lost their way and two good plays by De La Cruz saw the gap narrow to one point at 8-7. Sheilla restored Brazil’s lead to four points at 12-8 with two good shots but the Dominicans kept fighting and were only a point behind at 15-14. Fernanda sent down a rocket to make it 16-14 at the second TTO and came up with a good block on Vargas that saw Brazil lead 18-14. From then on, Brazil weren’t in danger. Sheilla delivered a couple of deep spikes and she brought up matchpoint with another strong shot. A block by Natalia Pereira then sealed the match for Brazil.

Team Stats:

ActionsSpike pointsSpike %BlockServeDigsRec
NoteErrDominicana4834%733251%28Brazil5542%1134760%21

Team Leaders:

ActionsPointsSpike ptsSpike %BlockAceErrorsBethania De La Cruz212044%0112Sheilla Castro201851%112

UNITED STATES – RUSSIA 3-2 (16-25 25-22 25-19 24-26 15-13) MVP: Alisha Glass
USA: Glass (2), Burbach-Larson (23), Gibbemeyer (10), Murphy (5), Hildebrand (12), Paolini (1), Banwarth (L) and Hagglund, Lichtmann (3), Hill (2), Fawcett (15), Jackson (8)
Russia: Pankova (3), Sokolova (22), Morozova (7), Malykh (26), Chaplina (10), Shlyakhovaya (12), Kryuchkova (L), Malova (L) and Dianskaya, Isaeva (1), Startseva, Pasynkova

The win saw USA raise their record to 2-1 for five points, while Russia dropped to 1-2 and four points. Natalia Malykh was the top scorer in the match with 26 points, while the Americans’ top scorer was Jordan Larson-Burbach with 23. USA setter Alisha Glass was named Player of the Match. Nicole Fawcett contributed 15 points, including three big aces, to the victory, while Kirstin Hillebrand and Lauren Gibbemeyer added 12 and 10, respectively, in the win. Russia’s Liubov Shashkova finished with 22 in the losing effort. Russia had the advantage in blocking points 17-9, while USA dominated the serving 9-2. Both sides committed 24 errors.

The Americans started the match badly. Natalia Malykh landed two big spikes and a missed set saw USA drop to 0-4, when coach Karch Kiraly called a timeout. The Americans picked up their first point with a good hit by Lauren Gibbermeyer to make the score 6-1, but the Russians were six points clear at the first technical timeout. Kiraly called his second timeout a point later to try and settle his team, but everything seemed to be going Russia’s way. At 12-3, the Americans started to find their game and give the Russians something to think about. Kristin Hildebrand launched some rockets and when USA closed the gap to 20-15, Russia coach Yury Marichev called a timeout. But the Russians had missile launchers of their own and Liubov Shashkova and Daria Isaeva steered their team to a 1-0 lead.

Russia maintained their good rhythm at the start of the second set. Anastasia Shiyakhovaya and Malykh delivered some meaty kills and a block by Victoria Chaplina on Nicole Fawcett saw the Russians five points ahead at the first TTO. The Americans fought back with successive blocks – Hildebrand on Shashkova and Fawcett on Chaplina – as they kept the pressure on the Russians and narrowed the gap to two points at 13-11, when Marichev hauled his players off court. USA drew level at 17-17 after successive mistakes by Chaplina, but two wayward shots by Hildebrand restored Russia’s two-point lead and Kiraly called a timeout. USA drew level again on a superbly placed shot by Fawcett and Marichev called his second timeout when the Americans went into the lead for the first time at 20-19 after a powerful thump by Jordan Larson-Burbach. Two more big hits by the American put USA in control and they earned four setpoints on a rotation error, which was symptomatic of how Russia had lost their muse. Cursty Jackson delivered the final blow to even the match at 1-1.

Two good first-time tipovers at the net by setter Ekaterina Pankova allowed Russia to take a one-point lead at the first TTO of the third set and after a misplaced shot by Fawcett allowed Russia to go ahead 13-10, Kiraly called a timeout. Two more USA errors gave the Russians a five-point lead at the second TTO. Five points later, they didn’t have any lead at all. USA ended an eight-point run three points ahead at 19-16 and the Russians were clearly rattled. Pankova was yellow-carded after being penalised for a double touch and with the score at 23-18, Marichev called a timeout. But it was too late to change anything. A thunderbolt from Fawcett brought up setpoint and Jackson again had the honour of delivering the winning hit, putting USA 2-1 up.

Back came Russia with a strong start to the fourth set. Shashkova opened up with two kills and was supported by a brace from Malykh. After a block by Shashkova on Fawcett, Kiraly called a timeout at 1-5 and Larson-Burbach responded with two good kills. But Malykh reasserted Russian dominance with a block on Fawcett and two thunderous spikes that put her team 8-3 ahead. Marichev called a timeout after Fawcett scored with a big hit down the line and a block on Chaplina that narrowed the gap to three points at 9-6. At 12-8, Fawcett came up with three monster serves, forcing Marichev to use his second timeout. Her next huge serve levelled the scores at 12, but Russia crept ahead again to lead by two at the second TTO. The Americans drew level again at 17, but Kiraly called a timeout when Russia’s Chaplina blocked Hildebrand to make the score 20-19 for Russia. Chaplina immediately blocked Fawcett to give her team a two-point advantage, but the scores were level again at 22, 23 and 24. A netted serve by Jenna Hagglund handed setpoint to the Russians and a block by Shashkova took the match to a fifth set.

Russia led 5-3 after a block by Malykh on Fawcett and a spike by Chaplina, prompting Kiraly to call a timeout. The Americans levelled at 6-6 and led by two points at 9-7 following a huge kill by Hildebrand, but it was level again at 9-9. After the Americans dropped two points to make the scores level at 11, Kiraly called another timeout. The scores were level at 12 and 13 when Malykh sent a shot down the line just wide to give USA matchpoint. Malykh then did exactly the same thing to hand the match to the Americans.

Team Stats:

ActionsSpike pointsSpike %BlockServeDigsRec
NoteErrUSA6339%993632%24Russia6239%1724627%24

Team Leaders:

ActionsPointsSpike ptsSpike %BlockAceErrorsJordan Larson-Burbach232242%107Natalya Malykh262246%317

THAILAND – JAPAN 0-3 (20-25 27-29 22-25) MVP: Saori Kimura
Thailand: Nootsara (2), Onuma (14), Thatdao (3), Malika (3), Wilavan (14), Pleumjit (9), Piyanut (L), Wanna (L) and Amporn, Tapaphaipun (8), Pornpun
Japan: Nakamichi (1), Kimura (18), Sakoda (15), Shinnabe (11), Ishii (11), Iwasaka (6), Sato (L) and Nagamatsu, Nagaoka, Oumi

Japan raised their record to 2-1 for six points while the Thais dropped to 0-3 and have yet to win a set in the tournament. Japan captain Saori Kimura was the top scorer in the match with 18 points, while Thailand were led by Wilavan Apinyapong and Onuma Sittirak who both scored 14 points. Japan outblocked Thailand 4-2 and had a 3-2 advantage in service points. Thailand committed 17 errors to Japan’s 16.

Both teams showed their defensive prowess early on, while Thailand’s Apinyapong sent down three zingers as a warning to Japan. But the scores stayed close. The teams were tied at 7-7 but Japan opened up a three-point gap at 12-9 after a spike by Risa Shinnabe and a block by Saori Sakoda on Sittirak. But a five-point run saw Thailand move from 11-15 to 16-15 and from that point on it was a battle. It was all-square at 19 when a brilliantly placed shot by Kimura set Japan on a three-point run from which they didn’t look back. Shinnabe brought up setpoint with a strong hit and an errant shot by Thailand’s Malika Kanthong put Japan 1-0 ahead.

The start of the second set was even more intense as Thailand – with a surprisingly vocal set of fans to support them – dug in and sought to break down the home team. Japan had a slight lead early on, but a rocket by Sittirak and an ace by Pleumjit Thinkaow put the Thais 8-7 ahead at the first technical timeout. After Japan drew level at 9-9, the Thais got into a good rhythm and started to punish Japan. After Japan dropped behind 12-9, Japan coach Masayoshi Manabe called a timeout. The Thais followed up with bombs by Sittirak and Apinyapong and Manabe had to haul his players off court again. Nana Iwasaka finally responded for Japan with a neat tipover and an ace, but the Thais were three points ahead at the second TTO. Japan drew level at 19-19 after a great block by Kimura on Sittirak, which she followed up with an ace, prompting Thailand to call a timeout. From 20-20, Thailand were able to take a two-point lead on the back of two Japan hitting errors, but good work by Shinnabe drew the teams level at 23. A superb quick combination by Thai setter Nootsara Tomkom and Thinkaow gave Thailand setpoint but the Japanese snuffed that out. Japan saved one more Thai setpoint and Thailand two Japanese ones before Sakoda and Kimura ended the Thais’ resistance and put Japan 2-0 up.

After Thailand took a 5-4 lead in the third set, Japan responded with a five-point run that put them 9-5 ahead. Assisted by the classy setting of Tomkom, Sittirak and Apinyapong kept the Thais in the match with some determined hitting, and Japan only had a two-point cushion at the second TTO. Sakoda kept the pressure on Thailand with some big hits from the right and Japan opened up a four-point lead from which the Thais couldn’t recover. Kimura brought up setpoint with a spike and ended the match with another emphatic kill.

Team Stats:

ActionsSpike pointsSpike %BlockServeDigsRec
NoteErrThailand4942%222759%17Japan5545%433255%16

Team Leaders:

ActionsPointsSpike ptsSpike %BlockAceErrorsOnuma Sittirak141431%005Saori Kimura181652%116

Standings:

RankTeamWin/LossSetsSmall PointsPoints1.Brazil3/09-1249-19992.Japan2/17-4265-25163.USA2/16-6267-26654.Russia1/26-7290-28445.Dominicana1/25-6231-26136.Thailand0/30-9188-2290

Descriptions: FIVB

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July 2, 2020 Mittie B Brack News