Another two three-setters delighted the spectators in Manila on Saturday, as the Preliminary Phase of the men’s Volleyball Nations League is approaching its close on Sunday. Japan mounted a furious comeback from two sets down against France, with Yuki Ishikawa leading the team to victory. Dutch opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz was in his scoring-machine mode again, but despite another fantastic 37 points from him, the Netherlands lost again, this time in five sets to Canada. And while these two matches did not have a direct impact on who qualifies for next week’s Finals, the third game on Manila’s programme kept USA’s hopes for advancement alive, as they beat one of the contenders, Germany, in four sets.
VNL 2024
Matt Anderson picks up speed as USA stay alive in race for VNL Finals
Yuki Ishikawa inspires phenomenal Japanese comeback from two sets down; Nimir on fire again in Netherlands’ loss to Canada
Published 02:36, 22 Jun 2024
Matt Anderson in attack against Germany
High-flying Yuki Ishikawa in attack
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The first match of the day in Manila was highlighted by experienced 37-year-old American opposite Matthew Anderson, who showed a great shape and led his team to a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23) victory over Germany, despite the efforts of another well-seasoned legend in the opposite position on the other side of the net, 39-year-old Gyorgy Grozer. Anderson produced a match-high 23 points (including three aces), the first time he reached 20+ in this edition of the VNL. Outside hitter Torey Defalco added another 20 points, while middle blockers Jeffrey Jendryk and David Smith impressed with four kill blocks each to finish with 10 and 9 points, respectively. Grozer was Germany’s leading scorer with 16 points, including two aces, while another three of his teammates also reached the double digits during the match – middles Tobias Krick and Lukas Maase with 12 points apiece, and outside Moritz Reichert with 10.
This result meant that USA are still in the running for a spot at the VNL Finals in Lodz. They are now 11th in the current VNL standings on a 5-6 win-loss record and 15 points, but a 3-0 win in their last match against Japan on Sunday would lift the Americans above Argentina, who are now in eighth place, just above the cut-off for the Finals. Of course, the results of other matches, those of ninth-placed Serbia and 10th-placed Cuba, will also impact the final standings and the qualification for Lodz. Meanwhile, Germany are in 12th place on 4-7 and 12, and out of contention for the Finals.
In the last match of the day, two teams already qualified for the Finals put up a five-set spectacle for the nearly 12 thousand fans who flocked to the Mall of Asia Arena for the game between Japan and reigning Olympic champions France. Led by a brilliant captain Yuki Ishikawa, Japan came back from two sets down to celebrate a 3-2 (17-25, 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-10) victory, with which they surpassed France into fifth place on 8-3 and 22, leaving the opponents in sixth on 7-4 and 21. Ishikawa was above all with a 33-point contribution to his side’s success. He spiked 31 points at a 54% success rate and added one ace and one kill block to his match tally to top the charts. Opposite Kento Miyaura, who subbed in for Yuji Nishida, finished with 19 points. His French counterpart Jean Patry was his team’s top scorer with 21 points to his name, including two aces and a block. Outsides Trevor Clevenot and Yacine Louati scored 15 and 11 points, respectively, while middle Nicolas Le Goff raised an impressive six kill blocks to end up with 10 points total.
Netherlands’ Nimir Abdel-Aziz was on fire again on Saturday, but despite another out-of-this-word scoring performance by the star opposite, the Dutch suffered another defeat in Manila. Nimir hammered out as many as 37 points, launching as many as six aces from the serving line, but it was the team on the other side of the net, Canada, that celebrated a 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 28-26, 14-25, 15-9) victory to finish the Preliminary Phase on 8-4 and 23, currently in fourth place, and well on their way to Lodz. Outsides Stephen Maar and Eric Loeppky led Canada with 18 and 14 points, respectively, while their Dutch counterpart Maarten Van Garderen put away 17. The Netherlands finished the competition in 13th place on 3-9 and 11.
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