USA and France will lock horns for the 2022 title in the men’s Volleyball Nations League. The United States advanced to the VNL final for the second time in history as their outside hitter Torey Defalco delivered six aces, five of them in set three alone, towards a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-13) shutout of Poland in Saturday’s first semifinal in Bologna. In the second semifinal, France also disposed of hosts Italy in straight sets, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-15), and showing some great serving, to make it to their second final in the history of the competition.
VNL 2022
France and USA knock out Italy and Poland on way to VNL final
All games are streamed live on Volleyball TV
Published 08:39, 23 Jul 2022
“I have not quite processed it yet. I’m still in the match, still hyped up and ready to go and play a game of volleyball. But I am really excited to have the team to support behind me and ready to play for the medal! The process of serving? If it is a good toss, I’m going to go up and hit it! That’s all you need to know...” Torey Defalco, outside hitter of USA
“We won 3-0, but it was not easy at all! Maybe in the last set they gave up a little bit, but not in the first two sets. We were ready to play this game. We knew they would start really hard and the key was to start stronger than them. We expected them to play amazing in front of their fans, but we stayed focused on the game, relying on our own team spirit. If USA receive really well in the final, they have really good spikers and can play fast everywhere. So if we want to win, first we have to serve really strong, like we did tonight.” Nicolas Le Goff, middle blocker of France