ITALY squeaked past a relentless Canada side, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9, on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena and inched closer to a spot in the final round of the 2023 Volleyball Nations League.
The Italians failed to finish the match from a 23-all standoff in the fourth set as Nicholas Hoag and Stephen Maar saved Canada, but the Azzurri were undeterred and showed great composure in the decider.
“It was a very difficult match because they played very well. It was a long and hard match. But the important thing is the victory and now we are thinking about tomorrow,” said outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto.
Michieletto led the European squad with 18 points on 14 attacks, three blocks, and one ace. Gianluca Galassi and Yuri Romanò each scored 17 points as the Italians (7-3) moved closer to a spot in the eight-team final round.
The Italians look to continue their rich vein of form as they duke it out with Slovenia next on Friday at 3p.m.
On the other hand, Ryan Joseph Sclater topscored for Canada with 22 points on 16 attacks, five blocks, and one ace. The team is now 2-8 heading to a Saturday match against top-ranked Poland.
Box scores:
Italy - Michieletto 18, Galassi 17, Romanò 17, Russo 15, Lavia 10, Giannelli 7, Mosca 1
Canada - Sclater 22, Maar 18, Hoag 14, Demyanenko 7, Van Berkel 7, Herr 2, Elser 1
Set scores: 25-14, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-9
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