The Ukrainian national team continues its impressive performance in the Volleyball Nations League. Raul Lozano's squad defeated Canada 3:1 (25:19,25:23,18:25,25:23) in a seventh-round match played in Ljubljana, temporarily topping the tournament standings.
The Ukrainians started very strongly, imposing their will in the first set with aggressive serving and stable blocking. Canada managed to stay close in the score, but Tupchii and Plotnytskyi led the team to a 25:19 success. The second set was far more contested. The two teams went point for point until the middle of the set, after which the Ukrainians made a decisive break and despite late pressure from their opponent, closed it out 25:23.
Canada returned to the match in the third set. The North Americans took the initiative early, built up a lead, and this time did not allow the Ukrainians to turn the tide, reducing the score after a 25:18 win. In the fourth set, however, Raul Lozano's team once again controlled events. Although the Canadians got within a point at the end, Ukraine remained calm and with a successful attack by Plotnytskyi, ended the dispute at 25:23.
Tupchii was the most effective player for the winners with 20 points, while Plotnytskyi added 17. For Canada, Hoag was above all with 17 points, while Wassenaar Ketrzynski scored 14.
Statistics were also in favor of the Ukrainians. They had an advantage in attack (55:51) and in direct service points (5:4), while both teams recorded 9 successful blocks each. The Canadians performed better in saved balls in defense (73:54), but Ukraine compensated with higher quality reception (77:73), which proved crucial in the most important moments of the match.
With this victory, Ukraine temporarily moved into first place in the Volleyball Nations League standings. In addition, the team gained 7.7 points for the world ranking and made an impressive jump of five positions to 9th place, immediately behind Bulgaria, which is eighth. These two teams will face each other in their last match of the tournament in Ljubljana, a clash that promises to be of extreme importance for both the VNL standings and world ranking positions.
photo:volleyballworld.com/
