Serbian star Tijana Boskovic’s 32 points proved insufficient for anything more than a set won against Dominican Republic as the Queens of the Caribbean stunned the reigning two-time world champions in their Pool A encounter in Ningbo on Friday. It was Serbia’s first defeat of the FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers, putting their quest for a direct ticket to Paris at risk. The risk became even greater for hosts China, who conceded their second consecutive loss, a five-set turnaround mounted by the Netherlands, and dropped below the cut-off line for now.
Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Caribbean Queens stun world champions in Ningbo
Netherlands hand hosts China second defeat
Published 02:12, 22 Sept 2023
Dominican Republic’s Gaila Gonzalez spiking past the Serbian block
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The Dominicans took advantage of the abundant Serbian errors and helped themselves with some good serving on the way to a shocking victory. Committing only 19 unforced mistakes against Serbia’s 29, and edging the opponents 6-3 in aces was enough to compensate for the European team’s advantage in attack (55-51 in successful spikes) and on the block (11-7 in stuffs).
Generation O star Tijana Boskovic continued her upward scoring trend in Ningbo and delivered a fantastic 32 points against Dominican Republic. In addition to her 27 spiking kills, she raised three kill blocks and two aces. While outside hitter Aleksandra Uzelac was the only other Serbian player to reach the double digits with 12 points, three athletes did so on the winners’ side. Spiking at a 53% success rate, opposite Gaila Gonzalez led the Dominicans with 18 points, including two blocks. Outside hitters Brayelin Martinez and Yonkaira Pena added 16 and 13 points, respectively. The latter crowned her team’s brilliant effort with an ace for the match winning point.
The day finished with an amazing Dutch comeback from two sets down. Hosts China were on the way to bouncing back from Wednesday’s upset at the hands of Canada, but their opponents mastered a thrilling turnaround. Two back-to-back aces from outside Jolien Knollema crowned the Netherlands’ return from a triple Chinese match point at 24-21 in set four to push the match to a tie-breaker, in which the Dutch recovered from an 11-8 Chinese lead as Knollema’s cross-court kill ended the match at 15-13 their way. Knollema finished as the second best scorer of the match with 18 points, while middle blocker Indy Baijens produced the match high of 22, including two aces and a kill block. Marrit Jasper and Celeste Plak contributed 17 and 15 points, respectively, while China’s leading scorer, middle blocker and captain Yuan Xinyue, finished with 18 points (three aces, two blocks).
In the second match on Friday’s programme, Canada produced a victory over Ukraine, their third of the tournament. This result marked Ukraine’s fifth consecutive loss, but also their first set won in Ningbo. While Canada outplayed the opponents on all counts, their outside hitter and captain Alexa Gray was above all with 24 points, including three aces and a block. Middle Emily Maglio impressed with five kill blocks towards a 13-point tally. Opposite Kiera Van Ryk contributed another 12 points towards Canada’s win. Opposite Anastasiia Kraiduba with 16 points and outside Oleksandra Milenko with 13 were Ukraine’s most prolific players.
Then Czechia celebrated their second victory in the pool, a win over winless Mexico, while, similar to Ukraine, the North Americans marked their first set win in Ningbo. Two Mexican players headlined the scorers’ chart of the match. Outside hitters Aime Topete Pardo and Grecia Castro Lopez finished with 21 and 19 points, respectively, while captain Michaela Mlejnkova led the winning side with 13 points, including one ace and one kill block.
Five teams remain in contention for the two Olympic tickets from Ningbo to Paris. Three of them are on a 4-1 win-loss record and 12 points each, with Serbia leading the way, followed by the Netherlands and Dominican Republic, separated on set ratio. China with 11 points and Canada with eight come next down the pool standings on 3-2 each.
