Men's World Championship 2018

Quote from Kk15

Yey!! Did he play as titular?

No, he didnt. But the times he came in, I do think he changed the argentinian game in a better way. He also served quite well.

Quote from Agguerro

Poland without Kubiak are not quite the same.. hopefully he is fit to play the other matches.. At least they got a point from this game. Hopefully Argentina gives everyone a headache just make things more fun lol.

It's an undeniable fact.

Quote from andrea

Shouldn't it be Sander and Russell?

2014 and 2015. They didn't debut in the same year for the USMNT. Jaeschke debuted with Russell. While Russell and Sander are starters. I like Jaeschke because he's very reliable off the bench which USA had basically none after 2014 world league.

Even Lorenzetti wrote on FB that the referee messed up in Arg-Pol.

What happened exactly?

EDIT: Italy won 3-0, I only saw the second half of the match and it was quite dominated, as it should have been.

Maruotti played titular because Lanza has a knee problem (he was the second libero, with Rossini as 4th OH): anyway, it's good to know he's ready to replace Lanza if he chokes. I hope also Lanza will be available tomorrow, though.

EDIT2: Giannelli (for what I've seen so far) is improved a lot in the second touches "attack"!

Quote from Kk15

Even Lorenzetti wrote on FB that the referee messed up in Arg-Pol.

What happened exactly?

EDIT: Italy won 3-0, I only saw the second half of the match and it was quite dominated, as it should have been.

Maruotti played titular because Lanza has a knee problem (he was the second libero, with Rossini as 4th OH): anyway, it's good to know he's ready to replace Lanza if he chokes. I hope also Lanza will be available tomorrow, though.

EDIT2: Giannelli (for what I've seen so far) is improved a lot in the second touches "attack"!

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Towards the end of the 5 set (Argentina 10:9 and 10:11 respectively), there were two rallies in which Conte scored a touched out. The Polish coach challenged in both occasions that Conte instead of the Polish blockers touched the ball last before the ball went out of bound. In the first challenge, the referee called a tie while the video replay confirmed that the Polish blocker was the last player who touched the ball (!). In the second challenge, the referee changed his decision that Conte was indeed the one who touched the ball last and awarded the point to Poland.

Quote from saishuu

So, question for Bulgarian users/fans: what exactly happened with V. Bratoev? Wasn't he out of the NT a while ago for not being that good overall? How is he performing this good all of sudden again?

As I have been more or less the only active Bulgarian (fan), I will take the initiative to reply Yes, he was out of the NT but not because of his skills. The problem was Konstantinov's attitude, according to his own words, towards him and his brother. That's why he quit the NT and said he won't return unless Konstantinov leaves (Surprise, surprise, not the first or the last player to complain about Konstantinov). As you can see, now things seem to have been forgotten, talks were obviously initiated in both directions and everything is fine. Otherwise, I think only for a year or two around 2012 he was out of the NT because of an injury. He is a terrible receiver for a fact but a great attacker, so his skills were never questioned. To be read as "Yes, we need him!".

Whether he has been really performing this good is a different question. He played greatly against Iran tonight but he's suffered on a number of occasions, also in attack, during the past 2 years. One doesn't need to be a tactician to see that every reasonable and self-respected team targets him from the service line. His reception is ridiculous for someone of his calibre. He was one of the reasons, for instance, why Bulgaria dropped that 2- or 3-points advantage in the tie-break in Sofia against Serbia at the VNL that led to the embarassing team morale drop and home defeats against Australia and Russia in the next two days. He has managed to compensate in attack sometimes, sometimes more often, and that is his role, after all, in the team. But I can't say his level is really great. He will move to Japan for the next season, replacing Kaziyski at JTEK, if I am not mistaken, let's hope it will do him good. He didn't have much pressure at Neftochimik in the Bulgarian league, had enough time to recover from the last injury and if not else, he was at least well-rested for the NT.

Rozalin Penchev missed entirely tonight's match due to a minor muscle injury. Not Bratoev's form and game, but rather Rozalin Penchev's almost complete absence till now is the more important question we should ask. That's a guy who can also opt as an opposite in case the other options fail.

Quote from Rains

Wow! What an upset. Iran just gave the pool leadership to USA by dropping 3 pts in this match.

Congratulations to Bulgaria for a great win in Sofia!

Well, USA had already gained the leadership in that group after the first round, so there was nothing for Iran to "give". Also, although Iran might've looked to some as favourite against Bulgaria tonight, probably because of the first match in Varna, it is usually difficult to repeat such a great performance just a fews days later. Iran weren't quite certain of new and easy 3 points against Bulgaria. Against the hosts of the tournament. And that from an otherwise very capable and dangerous Iranian team which, however, doesn't have the depth or the consistency to be a factor throughout an entire tournament. Although they have been a factor at the previous WCH or the 2014 WL, for instance, but that year was a great exception.

I was perhaps one of the few people that expected a Bulgarian win tonight. Simply because they just can't lose twice to Iran at the home WCH. Now, I am not that certain of Bulgaria's chances against USA or then the eventual motivation and energy left for the allegedly last match vs. Canada.

As for the match itself, I know that people preferred to watch other battles and more "interesting" teams, but if you do sometimes get the chance to rewatch it, do so. Not because it was the best volleyball encounter, albeit a relatively dramatic one, or a 5-set thriller, but because this was a match for the history books. Or at least for the volleyball theory books. Let me start by saying that Iran didn't even come close to their level from Varna. They played a terrific match against Bulgaria in the first round but today didn't show even 50% of that. This fact helped Bulgaria, of course, but still this was a match between two of the best 10, 12, or 14 teams in the world (which Iran and Bulgaria are, despite current form and status). And on that level, one of the teams, namely Bulgaria, won the match in straight sets (!) without opposites. They had opposites on paper but not only were they both useless, they actually scored points for the opposition on a number of occasions. A great team (Bulgaria has been very far from a great team in years) can still win and even take titles/medals without an explicit player on a position, but very rarely has that been the case if both opposites were useless. And they still won in three!

It was so pathetic at times to watch the setter Seganov deliberately avoid his opposites and keep setting in 3 or 4. Bulgaria didn't play backrow attacks tonight, played at 2 only when Skrimov was there, and they still won the freaking game in straight sets! You could see the Iranians wait with double and triple block against the MB and the OHs, totally ignoring the opposites. I had never really seen anything like this before! Unfortunately for Kolakovic, Iran still couldn't block well enough to prevent those attacks. And it was mostly Bulgaria's OHs V. Bratoev and Skrimov, especially the latter with his serves, to decide the outcome of the match.

If there was a surprise to me today, it was Slovenia's straight-set win against Belgium, obviously Slovenia learned their lesson from the comeback against the same opponent earlier on, and the Polish defeat, of course. Which puts Poland's chances in jeopardy. France's defeat isn't a huge surprise because they lost to a very motivated Serbian team, which is actually a trait for all Serbian teams in all sports. They just won't give up, no matter what.

Why isn't Lemasnski on Polish roster?

Quote from PackMasterFlash

Why isn't Lemasnski on Polish roster?

Vital Heynen prefers Piotr Nowakowski? I feel his roster with 7 wing spikers and 3 MBs is due to lack of "stable” players. Jakub Kochanowski is MVP of 2017 U21 WCH. Therefore, only 3 MBs are in the roster.

It's actually the best way to describe this French team. (Le Goff's mishap)

At times they play so well then suddenly shoot themselves in the foot.

#SOOOfrustrating

Good god, how much I love every time that loon Heynen receives his comeuppance for acting like a teenager inside the court.

#Askforachallenge

The challenge system currently uses the hawk eye technology instead of video replay to check ball in/out. The regulation states that a ball is considered in if any part of it touches the floor enclosed by the boundary line, including the line itself. And we all know that, if a player hits hard enough, the ball will be compressed a lot, increasing its surface area of contacting the floor. I believe that the sensor / camera is installed at the ceiling and then checks if the vertical projection of the ball touches the court area or not. In those marginal calls, it's possible for part of the projection to be on the court, but indeed the contact area completely stays out of the boundary lines. Does this small gap between the in/out regulation and what the technology delivers exist?

Quote from Rains

Wow! What an upset. Iran just gave the pool leadership to USA by dropping 3 pts in this match.

Congratulations to Bulgaria for a great win in Sofia!

Usa now won all their matches, why Iran gave them the leadership ? They gained top by themselves

Quote from andrea

Does this small gap between the in/out regulation and what the technology delivers exist?

I think it's an algorithm that calculate the trajectory and deformation of the ball, not a "picture from the top"...

Anyway, I guess it's possible there is a gap, but they use the same (?) system in tennis, with a much smaller ball (and similar speed, I think).

Somewhere there is a (quite old) video of a ball judged out by the hawk and apparently in in a replay (o viceversa), so who knows.

I preferred the system used in Poland in 2014, anyway. High definition picture of the ball on the line... Of course you may miss small touches of the line...

Quote from Leo Phu

Usa now won all their matches, why Iran gave them the leadership ? They gained top by themselves

I probably should've said pool win instead of leadership but USA was only ahead of Iran by a small margin( 1 win and 2 tournament points) and this Bulgaria win made it larger helping USA cement their footing on this group.

Quote from andrea

France, on the contrary, IMO is overrated in terms of the entire team, their captain-setter Toniutti, and their ace spiker N'gapeth. While having excellent ball control has been a long tradition for the French team, this team lacks some offensive force when compared with the other strongest teams in the world. The team is always commended for their depth in the OH positions, but indeed it's been a headache for Laurent Tillie to find out the optimal duo alongside N'gapeth. The problem started getting amplified from 2016, after Kevin Tillie got injured in WCH 2016. Prior to that, he's been a "lubricant" on court who contributes to the team's reception, defense, and also the offensive end to a certain extent. At that time, there are no obvious weak links to the French starting squad, except for Rouzier who's a bomb on the court that may explode at critical moments.

Toniutti's setting skill is always considered the world's best. However, after several major tournaments, I've found his well-received recognition increasingly questionable. Is his setting really that precise? Is his performance stable throughout the match? The emotional vulnerability is the biggest hurdle for this French team to achieve the biggest successes in major tournaments, and Toniutti is also known for choking at big times. His lack of consistency and conservative setting style surfaces when it comes to the latter stage of an important game. Considering his overall quality by taking into account his height disadvantage, I'd rate him inferior to other setters like Bruno, De Cecco, Christenson, Giannelli and TJ Sanders.

Now that we have some break between the matches, I will take the time to write a few lines regarding your thoughts on France. I agree with a lot you said, but still there are points worth discussing. And I will start with Toniutti because I don't quite agree with you. Is he really imprecise? Well, no more than any other top-class setter. He might have bad days, of course, but has been on a steady level for several years now, both for ZAKSA and the NT. It is not the precision of his sets, which all top setters master, including those you mentioned, that he is famous for, but rather the speed and unpredictedness of his sets and the combinations with his teammates. Albeit not tall, he is a modern setter with great ball distribution, speed, defensive skills and often decision-making. I would dare say the best of its kind. Whether he really is the best setter in the world overall is disputable. To me, in top 3 for sure. He is not a great server but surprisingly efficient at the net not only for a setter but in general for someone his height. I recall numerous situations when he blocked opponent's attackers even 1 on 1.

Regarding the emotions on the French side. Yes, I will agree with you. Just look at Ngapeth's lifestyle and celebration with Le Roux and the rest and you will see how important it is for them to feel relaxed. Although not necessarily linked to rap moves or excessive jumping on the court after a point, emotion is needed by any team, not just France. Take Serbia, for instance, an always valid example. Grbic plays with their confidence during time-outs when things not go too well, saying to them that they are among the best in the world and that all of them are winners and champions (I am paraphrasing a bit), and yet they demonstrate confidence and emotion on their own.

France, unlike Brazil, Poland, and Russia, doesn't have the pool of players to replace the starters or the group of 12 easily. Insanely not prone to injuries for a while, they actually were the team to beat between 2014 and 2017 perhaps. True, even in that period they couldn't start a dominance, winning "only" an ECH and 2 WLs and failing poorly at the Olympics. Still, they did great in the excruciatingly competitive world modern volleyball provides and stayed almost on top for a certain period. Drop of form, injuries, problems, developing/changing/scouting opponents will naturally affect or have already affected their game, but even so you won't really enjoy playing against France right now.

https://www.ivolleymagazine.it…eazione-di-julio-velasco/

The two challenges which caused the uproar in yesterdays poland-argentina match.

Still don't understand the "double-fault" on first challenge, while i do think that on second challenge, Conte touched the ball after the polish player. Whatever you think of Heynen's antics, this was great use of the challenge system by him once again. Still remember his legendary "nose challenge" in the bronce medal match against france four years ago....

I am quite surprised that Grebennikov is out of the top 10 both in digs and receives. What happened with his game? He won the best libero in the last VNL right? Didn’t hear any injury or illness as well. I watched only 2 of their last matches, not sure if opponents are avoiding him or his game dropped significantly during the course of the tournament.

LOL so i just heard Velasco was suspended for over-celebration?! No shade here. Just find it funny. I need to watch the replay to relive that moment

I read this somewhere and I agree.....that France has made WL/VNL their "priority" tournament ....they always play their best and give everything they have early in the season but then by the end of the summer they are out of gas. And like it was said they don`t have a large pool of players such as Bra/Ita/Russ and their starters must play mostly all WL/VNL without must rest. This year France was already qualified for the Finals and yet we did not see any new players.

And I don`t blame them....Winning VNL $1M ....winning WCH $250?... The French has made a lot of money lately. And if volleyball is not all that popular in France they probably have a better motivation where there`s 1M on the line...rather the Glory of winning a WCH when no one back home will care much about....

They do miss Clevenot.

When we look back for both men`s and women`s the winner of GP/WL only won the major tournament in the same year in a few occasions.