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Only one team stand above the rest with a one-match edge after Week 3 was completed on Friday with stunning sweeps and thrilling tie-break surprises.

Brazil’s straight-set victory over Poland and five-set wins for Serbia and Slovenia see four European sides with the same win-loss records chase the reigning Olympic champions in Week 4.

And Slovenia will test Brazil’s resilience as they meet on the opening day of the round. Their encounter could shape things up for a tighter race at the top of the VNL.

Brazil looking strong

Brazil completed Week 3 with a perfect sweep, as Brazilian trio Wallace de Souza, Ricardo Lucarelli and Yoandy Leal teamed-up in scoring to impose a 3-0 triumph over reigning world champions Poland.

Wallace led with 18 points, while Lucarelli and Leal added 16 and 11 points, respectively, producing 41 of Brazil’s 52 attacks in the match.

The Brazilian trio were also key in their first two victories in Week 3, as Leal and Wallace took care of the offence in their 3-0 win over the Netherlands, then Lucarelli joined forces with Alan Souza and Flavio Gualberto to post another 3-0 victory over Bulgaria.

The South American powerhouse team will face Slovenia when they return for Week 4 – a much-anticipated encounter as the European side have been the biggest revelation in this year’s men’s VNL.

Brazil will also play Asian teams Iran and Australia on Wednesday and Thursday.

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You can watch highlights on our YouTube channel & full matches on VBTV.

European teams in the chase

Poland and France each suffered a loss against Brazil and Slovenia, respectively, in Week 3. The two European squads now have a 7-2 card and have 21 points to trail Brazil in close second and third places.

After their straight-set loss to Brazil, Poland are looking to rebound against Canada, Japan and Germany in Week 4. France, on the other hand, will fight their way through their matchups with the Netherlands, USA and Italy.

Slovenia and Serbia on the other hand, improved their records to 7-2 and a 19-point tally following three victories in the third week.

Stern Toncek was the hero in Slovenia’s straight-set triumph over Canada as he led with 17 markers. Then it was Rok Mozic and Klemen Cebulj’s turn to rise up as they headed the team’s offence and defence in their five-set upset of France.

The 19-year-old Mozic blasted 19 attacks and contributed a block, while Cebulj tallied six attack points and four blocks.

After that exhausting five-setter against France, Slovenia once again showed their resilience as they rallied to win in full sets against defending champions Russia. Cebulj had an explosive night and led on all fronts as he netted 27 attacks, three blocks and two aces.

The Slovenians will meet Australia and Iran after their matchup with Brazil on Week 4.

The videos have moved.

You can watch highlights on our YouTube channel & full matches on VBTV.

Also making a strong impression are the Serbians, who defeated Germany, Iran and USA in Week 3.

After losing the opening set of their Week 3 campaign, Serbia rallied to win 3-1 against Germany with their wing spikers Uros Kovacevic, Pavle Peric and Drazen Luburic taking charge in offence.

But their 3-2 win over Iran set the tone for their great 3-1 win over USA.

The Serbians were down 2-1 against Iran but prevailed in the fourth and deciding sets as Kovacevic and Luburic came to the rescue with 20 and 23 points, respectively. They also ended a five-match winning streak for Iran.

Marko Podrascanin made it a triple celebration as he played his 300th match with Serbia, scoring 17 points, including eight blocks to tie the individual blocking performance at the VNL.

The videos have moved.

You can watch highlights on our YouTube channel & full matches on VBTV.

Kovacevic, who was still feeling the momentum from the victory against Iran, continued with his attacking onslaught. The left-handed hitter helped Serbia beat USA 3-1 with 22 points off 20 attacks and two stuff blocks on Friday.

The Serbians will play Russia next, then meet Bulgaria and Argentina in the next round of matches.

Meanwhile, Iran, Russia and Japan hope to stay in the race and will go all out in the fourth week.

Iran ended their Week 3 with two five-set losses and will be hoping to get back on the winning track with 22-year-old Saber Kazemi’s scoring contributions and Saied Marouf’s leadership when they face Australia, Slovenia and Brazil.

Russia are trying to keep their chances alive and will face Serbia, Argentina and Bulgaria, while Japan will hope to earn full points when they meet Germany, Poland and Canada.