Argentina vs Brazil – if only it was a soccer match, the whole world probably would be excited by the sport and emotional level of the battle, however, it is volleyball, therefore, ‘Canarinhos’ immediately overwhelmed ‘Albicelestes’ and having finished them off in straight sets. Several thousand kilometers to the North from Argentina, USA overcame Francein a similar manner like Brazil

 

Argentina – Brazil 0 – 3 (20-25, 21-25, 15-25) 

 

Argentina: Uriarte, Pereyra 9, Ramos 3, Castellani 6, Bengolea 3, Sole 6, Gonzalez (L) and De Cecco 1, Bruno, Romanutti 1, Quiroga 5
Brazil: Bruno Rezende, Lucarelli 13, Isac 6, Vissotto 14, Dante 4, Eder 14, Mario (L) and Wallace 1, William

Brazil continues an impressive winning streak in World League 2013. Bernardo Rezende’s players this time beat Argentina in Mendoza and proved high potential of their new talented players e.g Ricardo Lucarelli, who scored 13 points (52%) and flashed some great attacks. Argentina still is not the same team that was really competitive opponent  in previous years. A lack of Facundo Conte and Luciano De Cecco just sitting on the bench was clearly visible because neither Ivan Castellani nor Pablo Bengolea could not complete this loses. However, it is worth remembering that Argentina has already have an ensured spot in finals and perhaps is preparing the best shape directly to Final Six.       

A long serve by Brazil on the first point showed what the beginning of the match was going to be about: Argentina ceased the opponent’s errors with Castellani’s attacking performance and jumped to an 8-6 lead. Brazil, however, quickly woke up (10-10) and relied on Lucarelli to stretch the advantage to 13-16 at the second timeout. And, in control of the actions, Brazil almost never fails. Vissotto spiked off the local block to carry Brazil on to a 15-20 score and the South American powerhouse kept the 5-points lead until the final spike by Dante, closing the set on 20-25.

An outstanding set by Bruno Rezende for a back-row spike by Lucarelli pushed Brazil to a 4-7 lead that turned out to a 5-8 score at the first TTO. The Brazilian wing-spiker also performed well in blocking and the away team comfortably went on to 6-11. Argentina kept struggling: Rodrigo Quiroga fired an ace and Federico Pereyra blocked well to narrow the gap to 10-13, but those three points remained untouched to 13-16. Eder, who finished the set with 11 points, also played an important role for Brazil in the second set, while the score evolved to a 16-20 in the final sprint. A failed local serve sealed the set (21-25).

With an almost flawless attack, Brazil made it easy in the first moments of the third set (6-8). Isac Santos, who filled the spot of the injured Lucao, served two unstoppable shots and led the way for his team to 8-12, and a while later Leandro Vissotto also scored with his serving (9-15). This time, Argentina showed signs of defeat and fell behind to 10-19, giving Brazil enough edge to be cool towards the victory. Dante and Lucarelli scored solid blocks and gave the match to Brazil by 15-25.

Eder Carbonera (12/13, 92 % in attck), Lucarelli and Leandro Vissotto led the scores with 14, 13 and 10 caps respectively, forming a powerful offensive force for the away team. Brazil climbed up to a 3-0 record on Pool A, while Argentina is 1-2.

 

USA – France 3 – 0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-16)

USA: K. Shoji, Anderson 22, Holmes 3, Clark 14, Lotman 7, Holt 13, J. Shoji (L) and Troy
France: Toniutti, Ngapeth 5, Hardy-Dessources 4, Moreau 8, Lynnel 7, Le Roux 8, Grenennikov (L) and Redwitz 1, Tuia , Quesque    

Before the season France seemed to be the dark horse of the World League matches but so far disappoints. ‘Les Bleues’ lost another game in there straight sets facing USA and what is the worst-case not struggling at all. The most famous Frenchman, Ervin Ngapeth, fall off another disgusting play  while a leader of the U.S, Matthew Anderson, was pretty brilliant.  

The U.S. led in kills (45-29), in blocks (10-3) and in aces 3-2. France struggled with a kill efficiency of 30 percent while the United States’ was 54 percent.

With the score tied 4-4, the USA scored on two straight blocks to take the lead. Team USA led 8-5 at the first technical timeout (TTO). After the break and a France kill from Gerald Hardy-Dessources, the U.S. came back with an Anderson kill and Holt block to lead 11-6 and France called timeout. The U.S. kept up the pressure and led 16-12 at the second TTO. With the U.S. leading 17-14, Russell Holmes took the serve on a Holt block and served for five straight points, including an ace, to give the USA the 22-13 advantage. Team USA went on to win 25-15. Holt led all scorers with six points on one kill and five blocks.

Click Here: Bape Kid 1st Camo Ape Head rompers

The U.S. jumped to a 9-2 lead to open the second set. A kill by Le Roux and two U.S. errors made it 9-5. Team USA led 16-11 at the second TTO. With Team USA leading 18-14, France scored on a service error and two straight aces from Le Roux pulled the European side to within one at 18-17. Anderson responded with a back-row kill. With the U.S. leading 19-18, the US got three straight kills to lead 22-18. With the U.S. leading 23-19, France got three straight strikes from Earvin Ngapeth to pull to within one at 23-22. Team USA reached set point at 24-22, but France scored on two straight attacks to tie the score. With the score tied 27-27, the U.S. scored on a Clark block and Anderson tip to win the set 29-27.

With the European side deflated, The U.S. took a 9-2 lead to open the third set and France never threatened.The United States led 16-10 at the second TTO and eased its way to a 25-16 victory.

Foto: FIVB