Leal leads World Championship scorers and spikers

Cuban-born Brazilian star Yoandy Leal finished top of two individual rankings at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in Poland and Slovenia. He was the best scorer and the best attacker of the 2022 tournament, and also made it on to the World Championship Dream Team as one of the two best outside hitters of the competition. His teammate Thales Hoss, Argentina’s Agustin Loser and Santiago Danani, Ukraine’s Oleh Plotnytskyi and Italy’s Simone Giannelli were other players to make their mark on the individual rankings.

The 34-year-old Yoandy Leal piled up a total of 125 points across seven matches played. That tally included 10 aces and eight kill blocks. His highest total in a single match was 25 points in Brazil's quarterfinal against Argentina. Leal also topped the best scorers’ chart 11 points clear of the World Championship’s second best, Klemen Cebulj of Slovenia. One player from each of the two finalists also reached triple digits in points. They were Italy’s Daniele Lavia, who finished with 103, and Poland’s Bartosz Kurek with 100.

Leal was also the only player to score 100+ points in offence alone. 107 winning spikes, which he produced at a success rate of 52.71%, placed him at the top of the best attackers’ ranking. Cebulj with 95 and Lavia with 91 completed the top three.

Meanwhile, Leal's teammate 33-year-old libero Thales Hoss registered the highest number of saves in defence. 13 of his 59 digs were made against Iran. Another 12 came in the semifinal match against Poland. His Polish counterpart Pawel Zatorski came second in the best diggers’ chart with 52 digs, followed by Italian libero Fabio Balaso with 48.

Agustin Loser delivered 17 stuffs across five matches and claimed first place in the best blockers’ chart. The 24-year-old Argentinean middle announced himself as a candidate for that honour during his team’s very first match of the World Championship, when he scored as many as eight blocking points against Iran. Three players – Lucas Saatkamp and Flavio Gualberto of Brazil, and Mateusz Bieniek of Poland – shared the runner-up position with 16 kill blocks apiece.

The best servers’ table was emphatically headed by 25-year-old Ukrainian outside Oleh Plotnytskyi. In his team’s five matches, he accumulated 18 aces, six clear of the next best, Nimir Abdel-Aziz of the Netherlands, who tallied his 12 serving points across four games. In Ukraine’s key pool match against Puerto Rico, Plotnytskyi delivered as many as six aces to lead his team into the next round. Polish middle Bieniek completed the top three with 11 aces to his name.

Argentina’s Santiago Danani excelled on the receiving end of service. The 29-year-old libero had 39 perfect receptions, 16 of which were during his team’s crucial pool match against Egypt. French star Earvin Ngapeth took the runner-up spot in the best receivers’ ranking with 35 perfect receptions. Dutch libero Robbert Andringa and Argentinean outside Facundo Conte split the third position with 34 each.

Finally, Simone Giannelli, the Most Valuable Player of the World Championship, topped the best setters’ chart. The 26-year-old Italian playmaker tallied 139 successful sets, 32 in the Round of 16 match against Cuba. The top three of that ranking was completed by Argentina’s Luciano De Cecco with 131 successful sets and France’s Antoine Brizard with 107.

FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship Poland Slovenia 2022: All results

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FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship Poland Slovenia 2022
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