Argentina start well in Anaheim and move into the top three

Tokyo Olympic bronze medallists Argentina had a promising start in the third and final week of the Volleyball Nations League 2023 Preliminary Phase, gaining four positions in the standings after they won their first match in Anaheim, the United States, on Tuesday.

The South Americans started behind, but came back to defeat Serbia 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-18) and significantly increase their chances of qualifying for the VNL 2023 Finals, which will be held in Gdansk, Poland, from July 19-23.

• Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV

Argentina entered the court in eighth place, occupying the final spot in the Finals, but were able to surpass as many as four rivals, moving up to third place, with six wins (19 points). Serbia, who were right behind them, remain in ninth place with four victories (11 points) and will need good results in their three remaining matches to enter the qualification zone.

The South Americans had the return of star setter and team captain Luciano De Cecco, who hadn’t played in the second week of the tournament. He connected very well with opposite Bruno Lima, who left the court as the match’s top scorer with 18 points (16 kills, one ace, one block).

Also standing out for Argentina were middle blocker Agustin Loser, who tallied an impressive eight blocks, seven kills and one ace in his 16-point performance, and outside hitter Luciano Palonsky, who added another 14 with 12 kills, one ace and one block.

“We spent the last week training here in Anaheim and were working hard for these matches,” Loser said. “This win puts us closer to our goal of making it to the Finals and we’re happy about it. We tried to study Serbia a lot before the match and that helped our performance in blocking. Having Luciano back was also huge for us, he’s one of the best in the world and brings a lot of experience and leadership.”

Outside hitter Miran Kujundžić was the top Serbian scorer with 16 points (14 kills, one ace, one block), followed by opposite Drazen Luburic, who tallied 12 (eight kills, two aces, two blocks).

Argentina’s collective game was very strong as, except for aces, where each team had five, the South Americans dominated every other statistical category, outscoring the Serbians in kills (47 to 46), blocks (16 to five) and opponent errors (26 to 22).

Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results

Both teams will be back on the court in Anaheim on Thursday, with Argentina facing Germany at 13:30 local time (20:30 UTC) and Serbia battling Cuba at 17:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Friday).

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