Lucarelli propels Brazil to a strong VNL debut in Ottawa

Brazil overcame a difficult start to find its best rhythm and dominate Germany to a four-set victory in the teams’ debut at the Volleyball Nations League 2023, on Wednesday, in Ottawa, Canada, beginning their campaign on the right foot.

The South Americans built from a late comeback in the opening set to secure a 3-1 (26-24, 25-16, 19-25, 25-15) triumph over the Europeans in the last match of the day in Pool 1 at the TD Place.

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One of just two Olympic champions to be a part of Brazil’s roster in the opening week of the VNL 2023 in Ottawa, outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli embraced the responsibility of leading the team and produced 20 points, with 16 kills, two aces and two blocks.

“We had several counterattack opportunities since the start of the match, but we struggled with it on certain moments, especially on the first and third sets” Lucarelli analyzed. “I felt like our service was better too on the fourth set and that created more opportunities for us to score points. We had only two practices with the entire team before coming to Canada and we’re starting to see some progress now. We need time together and we need to be on the court to get where we want. We had good moments today, but we need to be able to sustain them for entire matches.”

Opposite Alan de Souza also had a productive shift, leaving the court with 19 points (18 kills, one block). With 11 points (seven kills, two aces, two blocks), middle blocker Otávio Pinto also scored in double digits.

Germany had the match’s top scorer in opposite Linus Weber, who tallied 21 points (20 kills, one block). Outside hitter Moritz Reichert and middle blocker Anton Brehme, who fired three aces, both reached 14 points.

Brazil did a good job in limiting their errors to just 16, while Germany handed 30 points to the South Americans. The winners were better in blocks (ten to four) and aces (five to four), but trailed in kills (50 to 56).

Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results

The United States also made their debut in the VNL 2023 on Wednesday in Ottawa and they had a promising start, claiming a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21) victory over the Netherlands.

Outside hitter Torey Defalco was the most productive American player with 13 points (ten kills, three aces). Opposite Jake Hanes came right after him with 12, followed by outside hitter Aaron Russell, with 11, and middle blocker David Smith, with ten. Star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz scored 24 points (21 kills, two aces, one block) for the Netherlands, more than all his teammates combined.

Thursday will be a busy day at the TD Place, with three matches set to be played. The schedule begins with the duel between the Netherlands and Cuba at 11:00 local time (15:00 UTC), continues with the clash reuniting Italy and the United States at 16:30 local time (20:30 UTC) and ends with the South American Derby between Argentina and Brazil at 20:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Friday).

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