The Argentine national team started the second week of the Men's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in excellent fashion. In their first match of the tournament in Gliwice (Poland), the "gauchos" defeated Germany 3:2 (25:21, 15:25, 25:15, 18:25, 15:13) in a Pool 5 match. This marked the South Americans' first victory in five matches, lifting them from the bottom of the VNL standings.
The match offered numerous turnovers and was the second five-set encounter on the very first day of the second week's program. After the two teams exchanged two decisively won sets each, the winner was determined only in the tie-break, where the Argentines showed stronger nerves and closed out the match at 15:13.
The victory brought Argentina 5.93 points for the world ranking, while Germany lost the same amount.
Match Statistics
| Category | Argentina | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 54 | 63 |
| Block | 11 | 5 |
| Ace | 5 | 11 |
| Points from opponent's errors | 28 | 20 |
| Total points | 98 | 99 |
| Digs | 70 | 77 |
| Receptions | 81 | 86 |
Although Germany outperformed its opponent in attack (63 points vs 54), on serve (11 aces vs 5), and finished with one more total point in the match, Argentina compensated with a much more effective blocking game (11 points vs 5) and capitalized significantly better on the Germans' errors, scoring 28 points against 20. These two components proved decisive in the evenly matched game.
Top Scorers
| Argentina | Points | Germany | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visentin | 19 | Röhrs | 21 |
| Gómez | 17 | Böhme | 18 |
After this success, Argentina took an important step in the fight for survival in the VNL, while Germany started its participation in Gliwice with a loss after a dramatic five-set battle.
photo:volleyballworld.com
