The Brazilian men’s team of volleyball won the United States of comeback, by 3 sets to 1, in the early hours of this Friday (30), for the fourth round of the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics.
After a difficult start, Brazil grew in the match and won the bronze medals in the last Olympiad with partials of 30/32; 25/23; 25/21 and 25/20. From the end of the first set, the Brazilian team began to force more the serve, making it very difficult for the American team to pass and, thus, having more volume of play and getting good counterattacks.
“Today, volleyball is very much about the serve. They opened at the beginning of the first set with Anderson’s good serve streak [Matthew], then we opened some in my booty. Now also at the end of the game with Wallace,” Lucarelli said after the game. “We have an aggressive team characteristic in the serve, so it’s trying to put it into practice and try to withstand the pressure, that all teams nowadays are going to have pressure. on the serve too,” he added.
In this game, Brazil managed to distribute the score well among its attackers. Wallace, Leal and Lucarelli finished with more than 15 points each. Bruninho said that, with the good game of the whole team, it was easier to be able to divide the raised balls well.
“When everyone is in the game, you realize that everyone is fine, playing the ball,” said the captain of the Brazilian team. “It’s very good for the setter, because you can strategize without having worries in your head.”
With the victory, Brazil was calmer in the group and could even qualify early for the next phase if France lost to the Russians. The result was very important after a painful defeat by Russia. For Bruninho, the ability to come back stronger after adversity is a strong feature of the Brazilian team.
“We had a conversation on the arrival of the Vila that other day and, I’m telling you, this team is husky,” said the Brazilian setter. “We went to the court yesterday, trained as if it were the last practice. And that’s what I say, no one trains with as much as we do. That shows the character and dedication of this team, all the time.”
In the sequence, Brazil faces France for the fifth round of the bracket. The game will be this Saturday, at 23:05 (Brasilia time).
The game
After defeat by Russia, Brazil started badly against the North Americans. The selection suffered five consecutive points in the first moments of the match. The team, however, reacted and tied the match by 6 to 6. The comeback came shortly after, in a beautiful serve by Wallace. The game, however, remained tight, with Brazil and the United States taking turns in the lead. The Brazilian team had four consecutive set points, but did not take advantage of it. The Americans grew and closed the first set in 32-30.
The second set started at the same pace as the first, with both teams exchanging points. The Brazilian advantage only came after the tenth point. In the sequence, the United States tied at 15 to 15. Lucarelli’s passage through the serve returned the lead of the set to Brazil. Despite the advantage, Brazil struggled to close the set at 25-23.
The third set followed the script of the previous one. Change of scores at the beginning, Lucarelli’s good passage through the serve – with two consecutive aces – and Brazil in the lead. This time, however, the current Olympic champion team knew how to manage the advantage and won 25-21.
Back on the scoreboard, the United States started the fourth set with a lot of intensity. Brazil, however, was cool to tie and, as a result, turn the game around. The Americans pressed at the end of the partial, but the victory was yellow-green by 25 to 20.
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