VNL: Italy struggles without Miriam Sylla, but Brazil wins

Italy-Brazil 2-3, qualification in the balance

Fourth loss in the preliminary round of the Women’s Volleyball Nations League, underway in the USA, for Davide Mazzanti’s Italvolley: deprived of the contribution of Miriam Sylla, injured and forced to miss the next two matches as well, the Azzurre struggled, but succumbed in the tie-break against Brazil: 26-28, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, 15-10 the partials, with Italy suffering from fatigue in the final, thus gaining only one point in the standings.

The situation ahead of the knockout phase is therefore delicate: after nine days, Italy has accumulated 13 points, the same as Serbia and Canada, with which it shares eighth place, the last one useful for qualification purposes: the final matches of the preliminary phase, against the same Canada on Friday and against Japan on Sunday, will be decisive in order not to miss the appointment with the “Final round,” which will be played from July 12 to 16 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.