Ningbo’s second Olympic ticket will be contested by the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic
At the FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier in Ningbo, Serbia became the first Pool A team to reserve a place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, while China shocked many by withdrawing.
There are only two nations left in contention for the second Ningbo to Paris ticket after Saturday’s results. They will face off at 16:00 local time (08:00 UTC) on Sunday.
Dominican Republic defeated mighty China 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-14, 25-14) on Saturday, garnering a sensational result after defeating Serbia on Friday.
There was a lot of interest in the first set of the match. The Dominican opposite spiked for a 25-23 victory after the lead changed hands several times. Following the first set, China reacted immediately and controlled the second to level the match after 25-21. Nevertheless, the Queens of the Caribbean dominated on the court in the next two sets, winning both 25-14.
Despite making more unforced errors, the Dominicans proved to be better on offense (60-43 spike kills) and on the block (10-4 stuff). In addition to one ace and one block, outside hitter Brayelin Martinez scored 25 points.
In addition to her 21 points, Gaila Gonzalez had two aces and 19 kills, including the match-winning kill. The most prolific player in China, outside Li Yingying, put up 11 points while Yonkaira Pena put up 16 points.
The Serbians proved their status as pool favorites by shutting out the Netherlands 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-20), which secured them an Olympic visa to Paris. Tijana Boskovic scored 20 points on her way to topping the scorers’ chart of the match during the three sets.
In addition to the ace and kill block, she spiked with a 58% success rate. There were 15 points scored by outside hitter Sara Lozo (two aces) and 14 points scored by middle blocker Maja Aleksic (five kill blocks). A total of 11 points were scored by Nova Marring of the Netherlands.
According to the Pool A standings, Serbia is currently ranked first with a 5-1 win-loss record and 15 points, ahead of the Dominican Republic in second place on a set ratio of 3:1. After Canada (4-2 and 11), the Netherlands (4-2 and 12), the Czechia (2-4), Ukraine (1-5) and Mexico (0-6) are in third place.
Against Czechia, Ukraine had their first win of the tournament with a 3-1 (12-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-15) victory. Svitlana Dorsman, the Czech captain and middle blocker, led the team with 20 points, including two aces and a kill block, while Helena Havelkova led the Czech team with 16 points.
As a result, Canada defeated Mexico 3-0 in an all-NORCECA contest (25-22, 25-22, 25-17). Mexico’s most productive player was outside Grecia Castro Lopez, with 16 points, two aces, and two blocks.
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