Week 1 ended today for the four Verona Volley athletes involved in the fifth edition of the Volleyball Nations League. In this first part of the tournament, they were all employed by their respective Coaches: Mosca and Cortesia for Italy, Možič for Slovenia and Grozdanov for Bulgaria.
ITALY
The path of De Giorgi’s Italy starts with a defeat against Argentina (0-3). The coach chose to start the two Scaligeri central players in the initial 6+1. Both provided their contribution by scoring a total of 11 points (7 for Mosca and 4 for Cortesia).
In the second match, played against the USA, the Verona players were confirmed as starters. Also, in this case the result did not reward the Azzurri, who came out empty handed. For our athletes, the tally was smaller than on their debut, also due to the numerous changes made by the Apulian coach: 2 points for Mosca and 1 for Cortesia. The first victory for Italy came against Cuba, going 3-1. In the initial sextet Mosca started, which contributed to the success with 2 attacks and 2 blocks. These are his statements after the match: “I would take several ideas from today’s match, our reaction after the lost set, the first two sets in which we played excellent volleyball. We obviously have a lot of room for improvement. I liked the desire to go ahead even when things weren’t going well, the long work of these weeks has paid off today”.
The Italian national team finished this first phase with another full tally, this time against Germany with a score of 3-1. The Azzurri took to the field with the same formation that beat Cuba, with Mosca imposing himself by scoring 9 points overall (7 winning attacks and 2 blocks). Thus, Italy closes Week 1 with 6 points. The group will return to Italy on June 12, before the second series of matches scheduled in Rotterdam, where the Azzurri will face Iran, China, Serbia and Poland.
SLOVENIA
Možič was the absolute protagonist of Slovenia’s first match against Serbia, with 22 attacks scored and two blocks: these allowed him to win the MVP award.
The second match of the Slovenian national team saw the hammer born in 2002 face his teammate Grozdanov. Also, thanks to an amazing Bulgaria, Mozic had less impact on the match, topped off with 5 attacks and 2 blocks.
The second win for Slovenia came against fearsome France. Also in this match, Možič proved to be up to it, scoring 21 points: 17 attacks, 2 blocks and 2 aces for him. Numbers that confirm his constant growth. Finally, the Slovenian selection closed this first phase with another success, beating Iran 3-0. The young spiker once again demonstrated his worth by scoring 25 points, including 4 aces. Week 1 comes to an end with Slovenia at 9 points.
BULGARIA
Grozdanov and his companions had an impact in the first VNL game against China at the tie-break. The Gialloblù athlete scored a total of 5 points, with a positivity percentage of 57%. Bulgaria, in the second match played, challenged Možič’s Slovenia, winning 3-0. The Scaliger centre-back contributed to the team’s success with a test of thickness, characterized by 5 attacks and 4 blocks.
In the third match, the Bulgarian national team had to deal with a tough nut to crack, Poland, falling in the tie-break. However, coach Konstantinov’s team played a good game, thanks also to the performance of Grozdanov (7 attacks and a block).
In the last match, Bulgaria lost 3-0 against Japan, with Grozdanov putting down 3 attacks and 2 blocks.
There are 5 points collected by the Bulgarian team in this Week 1, waiting for the next important matches to understand the leap in quality they can make.
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