The Ukrainian men's volleyball team started the new season of the prestigious Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a defeat. In the first match of the main round, the "blue and yellows" lost to the national team of Japan — one of the strongest Asian giants. This is already the second season for the Ukrainian team in the tournament; while last year they managed to sensationally beat the Japanese in a tie-break, this time the opponent took a convincing revenge.
Match progression: from equal struggle to a series of defeats
At the start of the first set, the team coached by Raul Losano was tied point-for-point with the favorites. However, in the middle of the set, the Japanese took the initiative, pulled ahead by four points, and confidently secured the victory — 22:25.
The Ukrainians started the second set brilliantly, ensuring a solid surge — 6:2. Unfortunately, they failed to hold the advantage: at the end of the match, the Japanese volleyball players delivered a powerful scoring run that completely broke the rhythm of our team. The set score — 21:25.
In the decisive segment of the match, the Ukrainian volleyball players desperately tried to grab onto their chance and reduce the deficit in sets. They kept the suspense alive until the very end, but failed to close out the opponent on the finish — 22:25.
Bright spot: Dmytro Yanchuk
The most productive player in the Ukrainian national team was the outside hitter Dmytro Yanchuk. He played an extremely high-quality match, recording 18 points to his credit — more than any other player on the team.
What's next?
There is little time for Losano's coaching staff to work on mistakes. The Ukrainian national team will play its next match within the first week of the VNL as early as Thursday, June 11. The opponent for the "blue and yellows" will be the tenacious national team of China. The match will begin at 11:30 Kyiv time.
Earlier, we reported on how Plotnytskyi became the hero of the start of the volleyball season in Italy. Also, find out how a star Ukrainian volleyball player dealt demonstratively with the Russians.