The Italian men's volleyball national team finished their performance strongly in Quebec, Canada, after defeating the tough Argentina team 3:1 (25-23, 17-25, 37-35, 25-21). With this victory, the "Azzurri" concluded the second tournament of the Nations League with three wins and one loss, accumulating a total of 8 points.
A difficult battle with the South Americans
The match against Argentina was anything but easy. Despite a good start, the Italians experienced a dip in the second set. The third set became a true volleyball masterpiece, full of twists and drama, lasting 42 minutes and ending with an exhausting 37-35 in favor of Italy. In the fourth set, Giannelli and company set their pace from the start and did not lose control until the end.
Top performers in the Italian squad
Luca Porro was the most effective for Italy, scoring 21 points. Alessandro Bottolo with 16 points and Rychlicki with 14 also showed stable play. Italy was dominant in blocking with 13 blocks against 11 for Argentina, and also showed stability in defense with 30 successful digs.
Performance in Canada
Italy recorded the following results in the Quebec tournament:
Victory overBulgaria – 3:1
Victory overGermany – 3:2
Loss toFrance – 1:3
Victory overArgentina – 3:1
Result and line-ups:
Italy - Argentina 3:1
(25-23, 17-25, 37-35, 25-21)
ITALY:
Bottolo - 16 pts, Anzani - 5 pts, Romano - 4 pts, Porro - 21 pts, Gargiulo - 11 pts, Giannelli, Laurenzano (L), Rychlicki - 14 pts, Cortesia - 1 pt, Bonifante, Pace
Did not play:Recine, Sani, Sanguinetti
Coach:Ferdinando De Giorgi
ARGENTINA:
Gallego - 6 pts, Sanchez, Palonsky - 13 pts, Loser - 17 pts, Gomez - 3 pts, Vicentin - 16 pts, Martinez Franchi (L), Diaz, Kukartsev - 18 pts, Giraudo - 1 pt.
Did not play:Conde, Scarpa, Zerba, Luengas
Coach:Marcelo Mendez
Statistics:
Duration per set:28', 25', 42', 27'
Aces:Italy - 2, Argentina - 3
Service errors:Italy - 20, Argentina - 23
Blocks:Italy - 13, Argentina - 11
Game errors:Italy - 30, Argentina - 32
photo: .volleyballworld.com
