Heated Rivalry Match Awaits Americans In Brazil
Heated Rivalry Match Awaits Americans In Brazil
This week, the Americans will travel to Goiânia, Brazil, to face Japan and Korea before taking on their rival and the No. 1 team in the world, Brazil.
By Megan Kaplon
The U.S. Men’s National Team looked good in its first week of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League. The team went 3-0 on the road in China and got more efficient as the week went on, defeating Argentina in five, then Bulgaria in four, and finally China in three.
This week, the Americans will travel to Goiânia, Brazil, to face Japan and Korea before taking on their rival and the No. 1 team in the world, Brazil.
Here’s what to expect from this week’s matches.
Team USA
High-flying outside hitter Taylor Sander proved to be the go-to hitter for the Americans in the first week of play. He led the team in points two out of the three matches, and ranks third in the VNL competition with 54 total points.
This week, however, Sander will have some time off, as he was not included on the 14-person roster for Team USA’s trip to Brazil. Replacing Sander, Kyle Ensing, and Jonah Seif, are a trio of Olympians that missed the first week of competition due to a late end of their professional seasons.
Matt Anderson comes in to take Ensing’s place on the right pin, while Aaron Russell replaces Sander on the left, and setter Micah Christenson bumps Seif from the roster.
Ben Patch also excelled for Team USA, ranking second on the team with 47 total points in the first three matches and leading with 23 points in the match against Argentina.
The U.S. men will have two matches to find their rhythm with these new roster additions before taking on Brazil in the final match of the week.
Japan | Friday, June 1, 10:15 AM CT
With a 2-1 record in the first week of VNL play and ranked No. 7 in the standings, Japan is so far out-performing its world ranking of 12th. The Japanese men took down No. 8 Iran and No. 16 Australia in four sets, and even managed to take a set off undefeated France.
After the match with France, Masahiro Sekita emphasized Japan’s speed and defensive prowess.
“Since we are shorter in height than France, we had to play faster in short tempo, which put some pressure on them,” he said. “We also defended well, which compensated for our lack of height. We are very happy with this game.”
Against Iran, however, it was Japan’s variety of offensive weapons that were on display. Yuji Nishida led with 21 points, but five players recorded double digits in the points column. Iran defeated Japan in the finals of the 2014 Asian Games and the 2015 Asian Championships and had won five of the last six meetings between the two teams.
Last year, Japan finished second in Group 2 of the FIVB World League.
Korea | Saturday, June 2, 9:10 AM CT
Head coach Kim Hochul returned to lead the Korea men’s national team last year after also serving as head coach from 2006-09. The former Korean national team setter is looking to improve the team’s competitiveness on the world stage, but so far the team has struggled in the VNL tournament.
In week 1, the Koreans played Poland, Canada, and Russia and lost all three matches in straight sets.
Six-foot-five outside hitter Jae Duck Seo has so far proved to be the most effective scorer for Korea—he boasts a team-high 29 points so far in the tournament and has a 44.83 success percentage, in addition to leading the team with three aces.
Brazil | Sunday, June 3, 10:40 AM CT
Team USA’s match with Brazil on Sunday in Brazil will be the biggest match of the tournament so far for the Americans. The history between the two teams is long and storied, not to mention extremely competitive, and they enter this matchup at the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the world.
Brazil won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and last year brought on Renan dal Zotto as its new head coach, following the retirement of legendary head coach Bernardo Rezende. In his first year at the helm, Dal Zotto led Brazil to a silver medal in World League and gold at the World Grand Champions Cup and South American Games.
The stacked Brazilian roster features deadly hitter and blocker Wallace De Souza and setter Bruno Mossa Rezende; however, Brazil did not emerge from week one undefeated. Italy toppled the world’s top-ranked team in five sets, thanks in large part to pressure from behind the service line that resulted in 14 total aces.
With a record of 2-1, Brazil ranks fifth in the VNL standings, just below Team USA and Italy, which are tied for third.
Non-USA Matches in Goiânia
Brazil vs. Korea | Friday, June 1, 1:05 PM CT