Slovenia vented its ire on China with a 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23 victory on Thursday night, July 6, to stay on course in Week 3 of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Still fresh from a stinging five-set loss to Poland that saw them squander a two-set lead, the Slovenians immediately got back into work and outhustled their fierce rivals to hike their win-loss tally to 7-3. Slovenia’s win created a three-way logjam for third to fifth places with Brazil and Italy as the tournament enters into the crucial phase where only the Top 8 teams among the 16 squads will advance to the finals. Klemen Cebulj and Ziga Stern joined forces with 21 and 18 points as the Slovenians blasted their younger counterparts with combination plays and strong serves. Slovenia actually had a chance in sweeping the match after dictating the pace in the third set, but the Europeans squandered a 24-22 lead after Chinese skipper Jiang Chuan spearheaded a four-point assault to steal the frame. China attempted to keep the momentum entering the fourth, but Slovenia had other things in mind particularly late in the frame where it scored three straight points to turn its 23-22 deficit into a match win. Jan Kozamernik also delivered for Slovenia with 13 points including the game-winning ace, while Tine Urnaut unloaded all his 13 points on attacks. China fell to its second straight defeat this week to sink at 2-8, kissing its final hopes goodbye despite Zhang Jingyin and Yu Yuantei’s combined 31-point output.
*Slovenia's Ziga Stern scores a kill against two Chinese defenders during their VNL game Thursday. (Ali Vicoy)
*Still fresh from a stinging five-set loss to Poland that saw them squander a two-set lead, the Slovenians immediately got back into work and outhustled their fierce rivals to hike their win-loss tally to 7-3. Slovenia’s win created a three-way logjam for third to fifth places with Brazil and Italy as the tournament enters into the crucial phase where only the Top 8 teams among the 16 squads will advance to the finals. Klemen Cebulj and Ziga Stern joined forces with 21 and 18 points as the Slovenians blasted their younger counterparts with combination plays and strong serves. Slovenia actually had a chance in sweeping the match after dictating the pace in the third set, but the Europeans squandered a 24-22 lead after Chinese skipper Jiang Chuan spearheaded a four-point assault to steal the frame. China attempted to keep the momentum entering the fourth, but Slovenia had other things in mind particularly late in the frame where it scored three straight points to turn its 23-22 deficit into a match win. Jan Kozamernik also delivered for Slovenia with 13 points including the game-winning ace, while Tine Urnaut unloaded all his 13 points on attacks. China fell to its second straight defeat this week to sink at 2-8, kissing its final hopes goodbye despite Zhang Jingyin and Yu Yuantei’s combined 31-point output.