Volleyball Nations League matches began on Wednesday, with the U.S. men defeating Poland in a landslide.
None of the 12 players named to the U.S. Olympic team, nor any reserves, participated in the trip to Antalya and Turkiye, including coach John Speraw.
Andy Reid’s team, with several players making their high-level international debuts for the U.S., lost 25-22, 25-15, 26-24 and will face France again on Friday.
Gabi Garcia led the U.S. with nine kills, four digs and two aces, while Jordan Ewart also had nine kills and an ace.
Poland’s Aleksander Sliwka had 10 kills, two blocks and an ace.
Men’s VNL matches started on Tuesday with a few surprises.
In Antalya, France dominated Bulgaria and Canada cruised to a four-set victory over Turkey. Stephen Mahr led with 19 kills and five aces in a 17-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory.
In Rio de Janerio, Brazil, Japan beat Argentina by four points, while Cuba dominated the home team, beating Brazil 25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 25-21. Cuba’s balanced attack, with 18 kills from Marlon Yanto, 15 from Miguel Angel Lopez, 14 from Michael Sanchez, 13 from Javier Concepcion and 12 from Robert-Randy Simon, gave a big boost to their Olympic chances.
Slovenia defeated the Netherlands 31-33, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 27-25 in a hard-fought match in Turkey on Wednesday. In a match that lasted just under three hours and 13 minutes, Toncek Štern and Klemen Čebulj each had 17 kills for Slovenia. Štern had one block and three aces, while Čebulj had three blocks and one ace. Nimir Abdelaziz had 25 kills, one block and five aces for the Netherlands.
Then in Rio, Italy played against Germany and Iran played against Serbia.
