Brayelin Martinez and Tijana Boskovic score away in Ningbo

It was a productive day for prominent strikers Brayelin Martinez and Tijana Boskovic in Ningbo. On the third competition day of the FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier Pool A, the Dominican outside hitter and the Serbian opposite hammered out 25 points each towards three-set victories over Ukraine and Canada, respectively.

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After losing their first game in five sets and winning their second, also in five sets, Dominican Republic continued to pick up speed and, on Tuesday, produced a shutout of Ukraine to place fourth in the current pool standings.

The Queens of the Caribbean were well in control of the first two sets, but the third offered an epic and even battle that went deep into overtime. The lead changed hands several times, but the gap never exceeded two points, one way or another, through the end, when Brayelin Martinez finished off a three-point Dominican series with a successful swing for 31-29.

The star outside spiked at a 50% success rate to deliver 20 points in attack across the three sets of the match, to which she added an impressive five kill blocks. Her cross-court teammate Yonkaira Pena added another 15 points, including the team’s only ace, which brought in the last match point of the game, while opposite Gaila Gonzalez finished with 13 points. Oleksandra Milenko was Ukraine’s most prolific player with 20 points.

Serbia mastered their third straight-set win in the pool, an emphatic over Canada.

It was marked by the tournament’s first appearance on the court for star playmaker Maja Ognjenovic. In addition to scoring six points herself (three spikes, two aces and a block), she helped Generation O star Tijana Boskovic reach the 20-point mark in offence, swinging at a 56% success rate. The opposite also raised one kill block and hammered four aces to tally a 25-point match high.

Middle blocker Jovana Stevanovic contributed 10 points towards the victory, while none of Canada’s players managed to tap into the double digits during the match.

“Last time we played Canada in VNL we lost, so we prepared very carefully for this game,” Serbia’s Italian head coach Giovanni Guidetti commented. “We arrived at the game with a great mindset and the girls did very well, tactically, technically and with attitude. We pressured them well with our serve and our side-out was excellent with the reception keeping a good level. I am very happy with the way the team played today.”

Hosts China topped the current standings in Pool A. After Tuesday’s shutout of Czechia, they are also on a perfect run of three straight-set wins, but on a better point ratio than the world champions. Chinese outside hitter Li Yingying led the scorers with 14 points, followed by middle blocker teammates Yuan Xinyue and Wang Yuanyuan, and Czech opposite Gabriela Orvosova with 12 points each.

The Netherlands achieved their second win in Ningbo and stand third in the table on a 2-1 win-loss record and seven points. On Tuesday, the Dutch hammered out a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) victory over Mexico. Outside hitters Nova Marring and Jolien Knollema, and opposite Elles Dambrink contributed 15, 14 and 13 points, respectively. Mexico’s Grecia Castro Lopez finished with 12.

FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers: schedule and results

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