So this one’s pretty intriguing.
I’ve watched bits and pieces of other matches over the weekend so far, but this is the one I was most interested to write up. It’s the new-look Americans against the fast-tracked Argentinians. For just that reason, I’m not sure if this match was going to give any valuable information, but it was definitely the most fascinating match of the night.
Argentina came into this match (and, indeed, the whole tournament) down a man, as their big star outside hitter Facundo Conte had surgery to repair a ruptured right shoulder (makes me squirm a little just to type those words) not a week beforehand. The surgery was successful and he’s expected to make a full recovery, but it’s gonna keep him off the court for quite some time.
Argentina took the early lead in set 1, with the first swing of Tony Ciarelli‘s senior national career finding nothing but hands. An excellent serve from Pablo Bengolea led to an out-of-system play by the Americans, putting them ahead by three. 7-4 was a very awkward rally, with both sides looking quite out of sorts. It ended with a kill from Matt Anderson off a bass-ackwards bump set by the libero Erik Shoji. The first automatic timeout came with that same margin, 8-5.
The Argentinians took a point on serve coming out of the timeout, with some bad, easily dug hits that one could trace back to the setter Brian Thornton. A long hit from the opposite hitter Murphy Troy put the Argentinians ahead five at 10-5, prompting John Speraw to take his first timeout. Troy got the Americans their sideout at 10-6 after the timeout. Ivan Castellani bailed out his setter Nicolas Uriarte on the next play, getting a surprisingly easy kill on something of a trap set.
Both sides ran quicks from the middle pretty effectively, with Sebastian Solé for the Argentinians and David Lee for the Americans each coming up with kills. At 13-8, the Americans clawed back a point with a nifty shot from Anderson as he leaped high to reach past a triple block. But the margin remained four at the second technical timeout, coming at 16-12. At 17-13, the Argentinians extended back to 5 with an ugly roll shot from the middle by Lee, easily rejected by Solé and Pablo Crer.
At 18-14, Luciano De Cecco came in as a serving sub, which was a sudden reminder that he hadn’t started the match. Uriarte started the match at setter and did just fine in the early first set (De Cecco remained in to set for most of the rest of the set). Apparently De Cecco is only just back from his professional club, to re-join the national team. An ace for the men in blue put them up six for the first time at 21-15, and Speraw called his last timeout.
After getting one on serve, Ciarelli went back to serve and uncorked just a beauty of a serve, baffling topspin on it as it landed well in, but completely abandoned by the Argentinians. His next serve went to the opposite corner and was very nearly another ace, but it was called just long. At 22-17, the American service reception led to an overpass, which the relatively-diminutive Thornton could only just reach before it went over the net. He did what he could, but his set wound up well off the net, leading to an easy block for the Argentinians. They reached set point at 24-18, at which point Uriarte came back in to serve as the double sub was undone. A hitting error from Matt Anderson ended proceedings 25-18.
An ace for Castellani early on in set 2 made it 4-1 in their favour, but the Americans quickly had the equaliser, an ace for Anderson making it 4-all. A kill for Ciarelli gave the Americans their first lead of the night at 5-4, before the Argentinians got their sideout when the Americans were called for a lift. The Americans kept the set closer than they did the first, trailing just 8-7 at the first technical.
After a fine dig from Alexis Gonzalez the Argentine libero, Federico Pereyra beat the block by finding the tiniest seam along the line to give the Argentines another two-point lead. On the next rally, the setters on both sides made a few dodgy choices, but Pereyra bailed out his setter by just slamming the ball through the block. Probably should have been called for a throw, but when is that ever called these days? I digress. After the American timeout at 10-7, Speraw made a setting change, tabbing Kawika Shoji. It didn’t really work — his first opportunity to connect with Anderson on the outside resulted in a whiff.
On the American serve at 11-8, the ball trickled over the net on a let, only to have it hit Uriarte in the back. You’re allowed to use any portion of your body to make contact with the ball, so this was a legal hit. The outside hitter Bengolea made an excellent out-of-system set to the opposite, but Shoji and Lee teamed up for a double-block to bring the Americans back within two. The Argentinians got the point back with a hitting error from Anderson on 13-10, making it a 4-point set. The Argentinians led 16-12 at the second technical, just as they did in the first set, and then 18-13 at USA’s last timeout.
Ciarelli peeled back a point on serve, yielding an overpass that Anderson obliterated, but on his next serve he curiously went to the man who was quite obviously the best receiver on the court, the Argentinian libero Gonzalez. That rally went bump-set-spike just like you draw it up, to make it 20-16 Argentina. After the Americans sided out, David Smith came up with a service ace to suddenly make it a 2-point set and prompt Argentina’s timeout. David Lee came up with a mammoth solo block on the first rally after the timeout to make it 20-19, and then the Americans got the equaliser. Another strong serve led to a terrible set forcing the hitter into hitting the ball outside the antenna.
That made it 20-all. The Argentinians sided out at 21-20, and then on that rally another Anderson hitting error gave them the big, late, 2-point rally. A kill for Bengolea made it 23-20. The Argentinians reached set point at 24-20 and looked like they’d get it when an American overpass was only just saved at the net by Kawika Shoji. Somehow, ‘only just’ reaching the ball still left him able to make a pretty perfect set to Troy in back-right for a kill. Anticlimactically, the set ended on the Americans’ next serve, as it flew wide to make it 25-21 for Argentina in the 2nd.
Paul Lotman started set 3 in place of Matt Anderson, who was noted to be slightly ill. Lotman provided an immediate lift by scoring the Americans’ first three points of the set on a nifty solo block and a couple of kills. Carson Clark also came into the match in the 3rd set, and came up with a terrific right-handed (remember, Clark’s a southpaw) pancake dig on the 5-4 rally that led to a point and equaliser for the Americans. After a double-hit was called on Rodrigo Quiroga, the Americans led at a timeout for the first time all night, 8-6 at the first technical.
It went sideout after sideout until Argentina’s serve down 11-10, where they put up a double block against Clark to knot the set. Clark got the point back on his serve at 12-11 with an ace to prompt Argentina’s timeout. The Americans went on a good run after the charged timeout to quite likely stave off the sweep, leading 16-12 at the second technical following a Bengolea hitting error. Argentina ran back, prompting the Americans’ timeout at 16-14 and drawing to within one at 16-15 before a Solé serving error sided the Americans out. David Smith immediately took a point back on serve with a baffling spin on his ball for a service ace. Then on 18-15, Shoji and Lee rejected Castellani with a double block, prompting Argentina’s last timeout.
After the sideout to make it 19-16, Luciano De Cecco again came in as a serving sub, and he got the team back to within a point at 19-18, and USA’s last timeout. After the timeout, he shanked his last opportunity pretty badly, and Uriarte came right back into set. With the Americans up 2 on service and 1 on reception, it proceeded sideout after sideout until the Americans’ set point at 24-22. The Argentinians shot themselves in the foot a little with repeated service errors, and their head coach Javier Weber had an obvious look of exasperation about him. The Americans converted their first attempt at set point, with a right-side double block taking us to a 4th set.
The errors were definitely huge in set 3. The Argentinians had more kills in the 3rd set, 14-8, but still lost as they had 11 scoring errors, including each of their last 3 serves.
And Weber continued to be very displeased, burning a very early timeout in set 4 down just 2-0. Suffice it to say, he was not pleased with his men as they came over to him. Lotman’s kind of surprising block party continued, and the Americans ran out to a 4-1 edge shortly after the timeout. But from 5-2, the Argentinians went on a pretty solid run to go up 7-5, as there looked to be some setter/hitter symbiosis issues on the American side of the net. The 7-5 rally itself was pretty amazing, as not once but twice did the Argentinians keep a badly wayward ball alive while facing away from the court. But the Americans got the point and sided out.
It was 8-6 Argentina at the technical, and the run kept going to the Americans’ charged timeout at 12-8. Some fine serving pressure, including an ace for Bruno Romanutti, led to the Americans’ last timeout at 15-9, making a final race to 15 appear quite unlikely. The Americans drew back a few on serve with their best server of the night David Smith. The libero Gonzalez was forced into a lot of out-of-system bump sets — some were good, some were not so good. They got within 3 at 18-15 before the Argentinians sided out again. At 20-17, Anderson re-entered the match as a serving sub for Lee, but the string of sideouts continued. At 23-20, the Americans again had Smith back on serve, and took one to draw within 2. Argentina burned their last timeout.
23-21 was a terrific rally, ending with a kill for the Argentinians to reach match point, with Uriarte on the line. Lee staved off the first with a kill, and then faced down the next on big blocks at the net. That sent us to extras, but it wasn’t to be for long. Pereyra’s serve on 25-24 rebounded off the American back row, back over the net, and wide, for one of those weird-aces, to end the match for Argentina.
Argentina d. USA (25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 26-24)
Honestly, the better team won. The better team tonight, anyway. Argentina played like the team with more experience and, just as importantly, experience together. Which, y’know, they are.
There’s every reason for American fans to feel encouraged. This group showed flashes of brilliance, and as I said in my ‘Gearing up’ series, this World League tournament is probably not itself a major goal for the USA team. It’s all training until Olympic qualification time. No one reached double-figures in kills for the Americans, as Troy and Ciarelli both finished moored on 9. The Americans have got to be a little encouraged by the play of Paul Lotman. Five kills and four blocks in just a set and change isn’t too shabby. Lotman is kind of a middle ground between the handful of holdovers from past teams and the infusion of new blood. He did play in London, although not very much, and he’s still just 27. A keystone piece to the future? Probably not, but a day like today is all you can really ask from him as a support player.
Bengolea led all scorers for the Argentines, with 15 kills. Argentina did an excellent job coming up with such a solid win with two of their top performers either out or in limited duty. I don’t know when Conte is due back, but it’s no time soon, and that’s definitely a blow to the Argentinian hopes. USA aren’t Brazil, especially not now, but the simple fact of getting it done without him has to be a big self-esteem lift.
Same two teams tomorrow night.
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