Medal contenders Slovenia and USA to clash on day one

Two national teams that are certainly among the favourites for men’s Volleyball Nations League 2022 honours will meet face to face on competition day one, as the new VNL season opens on Tuesday with games in Brasilia and Ottawa. Two-time VNL medallists USA and last year’s semifinalists Slovenia will get their campaigns underway with a match against each other in the Brazilian capital, set to start at 21:00 local time (00:00 GMT on Wednesday morning).

· Watch all VNL 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.

From a historical perspective, three-time Olympic champions USA, currently the number seven team in the FIVB World Ranking, certainly have more success to brag about, but with the most recent results considered, especially those from the 2021 season, eighth-ranked Slovenia might actually have the upper hand.

In fact, this will be only the second time in history these two teams meet head to head in a major world-level competition. After almost three hours of play during their first encounter on June 21 last year in a VNL 2021 Preliminary Round match in Italy, the squad from the small European country emerged with a hard-fought 3-2 (28-30, 25-19, 21-25, 28-26, 15-13) victory after coming back from a set down twice in the game.

Slovenia went on to finish third in the Preliminary Round standings, winning 12 of their 15 matches, and fourth in the final tournament standings at their rookie VNL appearance. They had qualified for the tournament by winning the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup trophy. Slovenia finished the 2021 season with a narrow five-set loss to Italy in the CEV European Championship final in Poland to claim a prestigious silver, their third out of the last four EuroVolley editions.

USA medalled at the first two editions of the VNL, with a 2018 bronze and a 2019 silver. Last year they finished seventh on an 8-7 win-loss record. In other 2021 competitions, the Americans placed 10th at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, third at the Pan American Cup and fifth at the NORCECA Championship.

Five of Slovenia’s seven starters who battled it out for that win over USA last year will be back for more. Setter Gregor Ropret, opposite Toncek Stern, middle blockers Alen Pajenk and Jan Kozamernik, and libero Jani Kovacic are among the 14 players on new head coach Mark Lebedew’s squad for the first VNL week in Brasilia. Ropret topped the VNL 2021 Preliminary Round best setters chart, while Kovacic was the best digger of the Finals and the second best digger of the league phase. Rising Slovenian star, 20-year-old outside Rok Mozic is also in the group travelling to Brazil.

"Despite some changes Slovenia are a very good team. The boys have proved this on several occasions over the years,” said Australian coach Lebedew who is about to make his official debut at the helm of Slovenia. “We have some very experienced players who have played in the biggest competitions and achieved outstanding results. We can also rely on our youngsters, who have proved themselves in the preparatory matches. At the same time, our national team has a strong team spirit that we can always rely on.”

US head coach John Speraw has made more changes to his roster from the previous season. Still, four Tokyo 2020 Olympians are among the selection of 14 athletes travelling to Brasilia for the VNL 2022 opener. These are opposite Kyle Ensing, outside hitters Aaron Russell and Thomas Jaeschke and middle blocker David Smith. Four other players - setter Joshua Tuaniga, opposite Jake Hanes, middle Jeffrey Jendryk and libero Kyle Dagostino - have previous VNL experience.

“Obviously the goal is to medal at the VNL,” said Speraw. “We have done that many times over the years. No matter the level of experience with the group we are taking, the goal remains the same.”

After Tuesday’s match against Slovenia, USA will meet the Netherlands on Thursday, Japan on Friday and hosts Brazil on Saturday. For weeks two and three, they will travel to Sofia and Osaka.

Slovenia’s schedule in Brasilia also includes games against Brazil on Thursday, against Australia on Friday and against China on Saturday. Their next VNL tournaments will be in Quezon City and Gdansk.

“Last year was the first time we got to play in the VNL and we managed to get a top result,” 33-year-old Slovenian playmaker Ropret said. “This year things will probably be harder for us, but our goals remain high. We have to fight for every win and our first goal must be to qualify for the Finals. I'm happy that the VNL is starting.”

Volleyball Nations League 2022: Full schedule and results

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