Russian volleyball players failed to qualify for the semifinals of the men’s League of Nations. According to the results of the preliminary round, the national team became the fifth, giving way to the teams from Brazil, Poland, Slovenia and France, with the Russians losing to the latter on additional indicators. Russian volleyball players, who were only on the eighth line of the tournament table, performed worse than men.
The Russian national team was unable to defend the title of champion of the men’s League of Nations, which this season is held in a bubble format in Rimini, Italy. After the World League was transformed into this tournament at the end of the last decade, domestic volleyball players have never conceded a champion title to their rivals. In two of its draws – in 2018 and 2019 – gold went to the Russian national team, which beat the French and Americans in the final matches.
In Rimini, the Russian team was among the top medal contenders. She did not play the first matches in the best way.
First, the Russians sensationally lost to the Japanese, then to the Slovenes and two main competitors – the Poles and the French. However, by the middle of the preliminary round, the Russians played out, and at the end of the tournament they were able to deal with the reigning Olympic champions – the Brazilians, breaking them in three sets.
This, however, did not help the Russian team to get into the top quartet. The fact is that, according to the results of 15 rounds, the Brazilian national team with 13 victories, the national teams of Poland and Slovenia with 12 victories were ahead of Russia. 11 victories and 4 defeats were on the account of two teams at once – Russian and French. The fourth semi-finalist was determined by additional indicators. The number of victories and defeats, as well as the number of points, for the Russians and the French turned out to be the same. I had to resort to a third additional criterion – the ratio of sets won to lost sets: the French team – 1.864, the Russian team – 1.857. In order to qualify for the playoffs, the national team did not have enough victory in literally one set.
Domestic volleyball players, who are also preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, performed significantly worse in the League of Nations. After the group stage, the Russians became eighth: in 15 matches – 8 wins and 7 losses.
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