2017 FIVB WORLD LEAGUE – GROUP 1

Final Standings:

Matches Pts Sets Points Rank Team W L W L Ratio W L Ratio 1 France 8 1 25 26 7 3.714 792 673 1.177 2 Brazil 6 3 19 22 14 1.571 817 786 1.039 3 Serbia 6 3 18 21 14 1.500 797 767 1.039 4 Russia 5 4 14 19 16 1.188 787 775 1.015 5 Canada 5 4 12 18 20 0.900 843 858 0.983 6 United States 4 5 14 19 16 1.188 816 804 1.015 7 Belgium 4 5 14 18 19 0.947 808 819 0.987 8 Poland 4 5 12 17 19 0.895 806 801 1.006 9 Bulgaria 4 5 10 16 22 0.727 819 861 0.951 10 Argentina 3 6 11 15 22 0.682 800 837 0.956 11 Iran 3 6 7 11 23 0.478 739 795 0.930 12 Italy 2 7 6 13 23 0.565 798 846 0.943

Note: Green and blue teams (the latter being the hosts Brazil) are qualified for the Final 6 in Curitaba. Italy, the last-place team, is in danger of relegation, although a rumored change in format for next season could save them.

Volleyball is a game of momentum, and rarely is that highlighted more vividly than in the World League. A pair of teams, the United States and Russia, who were dead-to-rights at the bottom of the table early in the tournament, have managed to sneak their way into the Final 6. For the United States, it came down to a game between Bulgaria and Argentina where a surging Argentina team rolled to a 3-1 victory over a Bulgarian team that had everything lined up for this match – they basically gave away their game against Brazil on Friday to line up for a badly-needed sweep of Serbia (which they got) and Argentina (which they had to have expected would be a win).

But in front of a home crowd, Argentina has looked better than they have the whole tournament, and they snared a 3-1 win to nudge the United States into the top 6 based on the 3rd criteria – sets ratio.

With that, 4 of the 6 teams from last year’s World League Final 6 have returned, including all 3 medalists (Serbia, Brazil, and France). The United States also returns, while Italy and Poland are replaced by Canada and Russia.

France finished off the Intercontinental Round with a 3-0 win over Belgium. For Belgium, the loss ended their World League season. For France, the win didn’t improve their standing in a literal sense, but their injured superstar Earvin Ngapeth made his World League debut and scored 5 points. If he’s playing well, on top of the newfound power of Stephen Boyer, France joins Brazil as heavy favorites in the Final 6.

ROUND 3 RESULTS (THURSDAY + FRIDAY + SATURDAY + SUNDAY)

Pool G1:

Venue:

All times are Argentina Time (UTC−03:00).

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report 16 Jun 18:10 Brazil 3–0 Bulgaria 25–15 25–19 25–22 75–56 P2P3 16 Jun 21:10 Argentina 2–3 22–25 25–19 22–25 30–28 12–15 111–112 P2P3 17 Jun 16:10 Bulgaria 3–2 Serbia 25–18 20–25 25–23 24–26 15–12 109–104 P2P3 17 Jun 19:10 Argentina 3–1 Brazil 19–25 25–21 25–22 25–19 94–87 P2P3 18 Jun 16:10 Serbia 1–3 22–25 16–25 25–17 23–25 86–92 P2P3 18 Jun 19:10 Argentina 3–1 Bulgaria 25–16 25–21 23–25 25–19 98–81 P2P3

Pool H:

Venue:

Venue:

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report 15 Jun 17:25 Iran 0–3 17–25 22–25 28–30 67–80 P2P3 15 Jun 20:25 Poland 0–3 22–25 17–25 21–25 60–75 P2P3 17 Jun 17:25 United States 2–3 29–31 25–17 19–25 29–27 13–15 115–115 P2P3 17 Jun 20:25 Poland 3–0 Iran 25–17 25–18 25–22 75–57 P2P3 18 Jun 17:25 Russia 3–0 Iran 26–24 25–18 25–18 76–60 P2P3 18 Jun 20:25 Poland 1–3 31–29 17–25 25–27 20–25 93–106 P2P3

Pool I:

Venue:

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date Time Score Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Total Report 16 Jun 17:10 Italy 3–2 France 20–25 25–21 24–26 25–20 16–14 110–106 P2P3 16 Jun 20:10 Belgium 2–3 23–25 13–25 26–24 25–22 10–15 97–111 P2P3 17 Jun 17:10 France 3–0 Canada 25–16 25–15 25–21 75–52 P2P3 17 Jun 20:10 Italy 1–3 22–25 24–26 27–25 16–25 89–101 P2P3 18 Jun 13:00 Canada 3–1 Italy 20–25 25–22 25–14 25–22 95–83 P2P3 18 Jun 16:00 Belgium 0–3 21–25 16–25 16–25 53–75 P2P3

Round 3 – Day 2 Videos (Saturday)

Brazil def. Serbia 3-1

Argentina def. Bulgaria 3-1

Russia def. Iran 3-0

United States def. Poland 3-1

Canada def. Italy 3-1

France def. Belgium 3-0