VOLLEY
The USA beat De Giorgi’s men 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 in the semifinal: it’s the final against Poland. Azzurri for 3rd/4th place against Japan
22 lug 2023
Men’s volleyball Italy does not reach the Nations League final: in the penultimate act of the competition the United Statesdriven by Jaeschke, passed the local selection 3-0 with the score 25-19, 25-18, 25-19. This is how the USA face Poland tomorrow at 8 pm, victorious 3-1 against Japan (19-25, 28-26, 25-17, 25-21). De Giorgi’s men are expected to final against the Japanese tomorrow at 17.
United States-Poland is the final of the Volleyball Nations League: the USA in fact got the better of Italy in Gdansk in the second semi-final of the day, with a score of 25-19, 25-18, 25-19. The match started well for the Americans, who went up to 7-4 and triggered the reaction of De Giorgi’s men, who were good at getting up +3 themselves before giving in to the American team, who closed the first set 25-19 led by Anderson and Jaeschke. Giannelli and Romanò struggle to find the right solutions and are called to drag their teammates into the second set, but after a point-to-point fight in the first part of the set they are forced to give in again to the USA, clearly superior from every point of view. The US number 17 is still the star performer, as is Defalco, omnipresent in the crucial moments of the period. The third partial is that of inside or outside for Italy, which however fails to re-emerge: the 25-19 is worth the definitive 3-0. 16 points, 2 aces and two blocks for Thomas Jaeschke, absolute mvp of the match. Performances of absolute thickness also for Anderson (17 points) and Christenson. Poland then reached the final, victorious in the other semifinal 3-1 with a score of 19-25, 28-26, 25-17, 25-21. The hosts found success above all thanks to the monstrous performance of Leon, who finished with 23 points. The last act of the competition starts tomorrow at 20.00, while for the Italian selection the competition closes with the final for third place against the Japanese (17.00).
RELIVE THE REAL TIME OF ITALY 0-USA 0-3
First set: aggressive start of the Americans, immediately ahead 6-3. The Azzurri recover thanks to Russo’s block and manage to reach 9-8. Michieletto signs on 12-9 after a great exchange but the USA come back immediately: Lavia’s attack comes out. Our opponents continue to make fewer mistakes and lead to 14-17, holding the lead until 18-21. Still nothing to do in the first set finale, a super Defalco closes the set at 25-19.
Second set: despite a balanced start (3-3), the USA do even better than Italy: block by Christenson on Michieletti then Defalco and Smith for 10-13. Italy puts out several jokes leaving the USA at +5, furthermore the great performance of Jaeschke and the bad luck of Romanò on the walls bring the second set up 15-19 and again up 16-22 on Giannelli’s offensive foul. Partial even heavier with the final 25-18, on the Defalco block.
Third set: the USA did better at the start but Michieletto’s double winning attack brought us up 2-1. Too many wrong hits for Italy, but Holt’s mistake restores the 4-4. Attack by Anderson, then a foul by Romano: the USA try a mini-break at 4-7 and then De Giorgi asks for a timeout. The Americans maintain a +3 lead (10-7). Ace di Galassi for 8-10. Jaeschke and Anderson make a vacuum again (16-11). Lavia walled up by Jaeschke, 17-11 USA. Anderson unleashed for 21-14. Ace di Galassi: Azzurri shorten 21-16, then misses the next serve. Sbertoli misses the joke: 23-17. Anderson places it in the center and it’s 6 match points for the Americans. He finishes 25-19.