With 70 points from Kiera Van Ryk, Alexa Gray and Emily Maglio combined, Canada handed hosts China their first loss in Pool A of the FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers, pulling off a five-set upset and leaving the remaining race for the two Olympic tickets from Ningbo wide open and exciting. Li Yingying’s 30 points for China were not enough to stop the Canadians, while Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic also produced 30 points on Wednesday, but towards a four-set victory over Czechia.
Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Van Ryk, Gray e Maglio sono in fiamme mentre il Canada sorprende la Cina a Ningbo.
Li Yingying e Tijana Boskovic hanno realizzato 30 punti a testa mercoledì.
Pubblicato 03:36, 20 set 2023
Canada’s Vyn Ryk spikes above the Chinese block
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L'ultima partita del programma della giornata ha offerto un'emozionante montagna russa di cinque set, in cui il Canada, numero 11 al mondo, ha ottenuto una stretta vittoria per 3-2 (28-26, 15-25, 25-23, 22-25, 17-15) contro la Cina, numero sei.
Mentre la squadra di casa ha dominato nettamente il secondo set, gli altri quattro sono stati molto competitivi. Il Canada ha vinto tre dei set con un margine minimo, due dei quali, compreso il tie-break, ai tempi supplementari. Tre giocatrici hanno raggiunto il punteggio di oltre 20 punti, con l'opposto Kiera Van Ryk in testa con 26 punti, tutti in battuta. La palleggiatrice esterna e capitano Alexa Gray ne ha aggiunti altri 24, compreso un blocco, mentre la centrale Emily Maglio ha accumulato ben nove blocchi di kills, compreso quello vincente nel tie-break, per un totale di 20 punti.
La Cina ha comunque concluso con un totale di 19 blocchi contro gli 11 del Canada. I canadesi hanno superato i vincitori anche nel servizio (10-3 in aces) e nella precisione (17-19 in errori non forzati), ma ciò che ha dato loro il vantaggio è stata la battuta (76-66 in kills in attacco). La 23enne stella cinese Li Yingying ha realizzato 30 punti, tra cui tre blocchi e due ace.
After sitting out Serbia’s first game in Pool A on Saturday, scoring 22 points against Ukraine on Sunday and another 25 against Canada on Tuesday, 26-year-old star Tijana Boskovic kept up the upward trend on Wednesday, firing as many as 30 points against Czechia. The reigning world champions lost their first set of the tournament in China, but added another three points to their record as they mastered their fourth consecutive victory, 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 30-32, 25-20) against Czechia.
In each of the sets one, two and four, Czechia started better, immediately taking a two or three-point lead, but Serbia were able to recover, turn the score around and win. Set three, the most interesting of the game, was the only one, in which Serbia took the early lead. The Czechs caught up and prompted a hard-fought race, in which the lead changed hands several times, to push it deep into overtime. The Czechs saved three Serbian match points, but wasted four set points of their own, before opposite Gabriela Orvosova could convert the fifth one with a swing for 32-30.
Tijana Boskovic led Serbia to victory with 25 spiking points at a 52% success rate in attack, four kill blocks and an ace. Middle blocker Maja Aleksic added another 16 points, also with four stuffs, in addition to 12 successful hits, including the match winner. Gabriela Orvosova led the Czech scorers with 15 points, including three blocks.
Serbia remained the only undefeated team in Ningbo and lead the current pool standings on 4-0 and 12 points, followed by China and the Netherlands on 3-1 and 10 points each, Dominican Republic on 3-1 and 9, Canada on 2-2 and 5, and Czechia on 1-3 and 2. Ukraine and Mexico, who are bottom of the table without a set won in four matches each, no longer have a mathematical shot at one of the two tickets from Ningbo to Paris 2024.
In an all-European clash on Wednesday, the Netherlands downed Ukraine in straight sets, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-16). Outside hitter Marrit Jasper and opposite Celeste Plak shared the top scorer honours of the match with 13 points apiece, while Oleksandra Milenko was Ukraine’s most productive player with 12 points.
In an all-NORCECA encounter, Dominican Republic mastered a 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-16) shutout of Mexico, with opposite Gaila Gonzalez producing a match-high 14 points, sharing the top of the scorers’ chart with Mexico’s Grecia Castro Lopez, whose 14-point tally included three aces and three blocks.
