Serbia dethroned defending three-time champions USA to claim a spot in the semifinals of the women’s Volleyball Nations League 2022. They emerged on the winning end of a five-set battle to celebrate with a 3-2 (29-27, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 15-13) victory on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Brazil were the first team to progress to the semis. The Finals in Ankara opened with the first quarterfinal, between the South Americans and Japan. After a fierce duel, coach Ze Roberto’s squad celebrated with a 3-1 (29-27, 28-26, 20-25, 25-14) win and will take on Serbia on Saturday for a place in Sunday’s final.
VNL 2022
Serbia dethrone USA to face Brazil in VNL semis
All games are streamed live on Volleyball TV
Published 06:30, 13 Jul 2022
“First of all, I am still trying to catch some breath, because this match against Japan was like this: you attack one time, two times... The rally goes on for over a minute... So you need to be pushing all the time, physically and mentally. That’s why I am really proud of my team! We came back from behind in the first two sets, lost the third set and said, let’s keep our energy, take a breath and push everything we have in the fourth set and this is what made the difference. This is the energy of Brazil and we need to bring it forward in the semifinals too.” Gabi Guimaraes, outside hitter and captain of Brazil
“I really don’t know what to say after this game. We prepared for it very well, played with a feeling, with a focus, and gave our maximum. We are always prepared to go five, because we never lose five. It’s incredible! We expected to give our maximum and play a good game, but to beat USA, the best team in the world at the moment, is really difficult.” Ana Bjelica, opposite and captain of Serbia