Yet another defeat in the men’s volleyball Nations League. Brazil played a bad match and lost against Canada by 3 sets to 0 (26/24, 25/19 and 26/24), in the early hours of this Friday (21st), in Pasay City, Philippines. It was the second consecutive defeat for the Brazilian team, the fifth in 11 matches of the competition. The team will close the first phase against France on Sunday (23rd) at 4pm.
After a shaky performance against the United States the day before, Brazil also played a disappointing match against another North American rival. The team had a very difficult time scoring on the break and did not score any points in the first two sets. Canada played a comfortable match, even with many service errors.
Bernardinho decided to spare Lucarelli from the match and started the match with Leal, Lucão, Cachopa, Maurício Borges, Judson, Darlan and Thales (L). Brasilia and Darlan entered the 5×1 inversion throughout the match and made the difference in the reaction of the first set. Flávio replaced Judson in the third period to try to fix the Brazilian block.
As soon as Flávio entered, he already scored a blocking point. However, that was it. This was Brazil’s only success on the foundations. Darlan didn’t play his best game and scored 12 points, nine on attack and two on serve. Lucão and Leal scored nine points each, while Maurício Borges and Judson scored four. For Canada, Loeppky scored 21 points, 16 attack points, two blocks and three aces.
Bad moment
This was the fifth defeat for the Brazilian men’s volleyball team in the Nations League. The team has six wins and currently has 20 points. With the result, the team was overtaken by Canada in the rankings and dropped to sixth place. Despite the bad moment, Brazil is in a comfortable position to reach the final.
The team will face France at the end of the first phase of the VNL, on Sunday (23rd), at 4 am (Brasilia time). So far the European team has achieved seven victories and three defeats and is in fifth place in the table. Canada, who qualified after winning against Brazil, will play against the Netherlands this Saturday (22nd), also at 4 in the morning.
What the game was like
The start of the match is balanced, with exchanges of points between the two teams. Canada opened the lead from 9/9 onwards and maintained a four-point difference until the final stretch. The Canadian team reached 23/19, when the Brazilian team reacted with a beautiful pass from Maurício Borges serving and equalized the duel. Brazil had a counterattack to reach set point, but wasted it. Then Canada cruised to victory on 26/24.
In the second set, Canada was in control of the score practically the entire time. Brazil even scores the first point, but Canada immediately opens 4/1. Brazil failed to counterattack, nor score points on blocks, which led to the opposing team opening up even more until they reached 21/14. In the end the Brazilian team managed to score a counterattack to save a set point, but lost 25/19.
Brazil scored its first break point in the match only in the third set, when Flávio entered the match. The team managed to exchange points throughout the match. In a Brazilian slip, Canada reached 20/17 and still had a 23/20. After a nice serve pass from Lucão and the turns of Leal – who appeared after the empty sets -, the yellow-greens reached the draw at 23/23. But, just like in the first set, the Brazilian reaction stops there and Canada wins 26/24.
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
