The Serbian national team finished its participation in the second week of the Volleyball Nations League with a 1:3 (12:25, 23:25, 26:24, 17:25) defeat against the USA in its last match of the tournament in Orleans (France).
The Americans fielded a very strong lineup, led by star Matt Anderson "," one of the most successful volleyball players of the last decade. The Serbian team managed to snatch the third set and bring back some intrigue, but failed to put serious pressure on one of the tournament favorites.
The coach once again could not rely on the main opposite hitter Velko Mashulović, and his absence seriously affected the 'Eagles'' attack. The most impressive story came from Lazar Marinović, who joined the team just one day after his wedding and was Serbia's top scorer. The outside hitter finished with 16 points, but his excellent performance was not enough for a comeback.
The key factor for the defeat proved to be the Serbs' own errors. They gave away a total of 38 points to their opponents compared to only 16 errors by the Americans "," a difference that proved decisive in a match where both teams were almost equally strong in attack.
Lazar Marinović scored 16 points for Serbia, Pavle Perić added 15, Vuk Kulpinac finished with 13, and Aleksandar Nedeljković with 12 points. For the USA, Matt Anderson was the top scorer with 14 points.
| Team | Attack | Block | Ace | Points from opponent's errors | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 49 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 78 |
| USA | 46 | 11 | 4 | 38 | 99 |
The main difference came not from the game elements, but from discipline. Serbia surpassed their opponent in attack (49:46) and on serve (5:4), but committed too many unforced errors, which led to 38 direct points for the Americans. This particular statistic determined the outcome of the match. After the end of the second tournament, Serbia has a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. In the first week, the team achieved an excellent record of 3 wins and 1 defeat, while in France they won only one of their four matches. Now, the Serbian national team has two weeks without official matches before the home tournament in Belgrade, where their opponents will also include Turkey, Ukraine, Germany, and Slovenia.
photo:volleyballworld.com
