Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 18, 2015 – Serbia became the first team to the reach the 2015 FIVB Volleyball World League final when they defeated reigning champions the USA 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 25-27, 20-25, 15-12) at the Maracanazinho Arena on Saturday.
They will play the winner of the second semifinal between world champions Poland and France in Sunday’s final. It will be Serbia’s first World League final since 2010 and their fifth attempt to win a title that has so far eluded them.
Serbia’s Aleksandar Atanasijevic led scoring with 22 points and was followed closely by the United States’ Matthew Anderson, who scored 21.
Serbia asserted early control in the first set, but Taylor Sanders’ spiking allowed the USA to wrest back control of the set. A well-timed time-out by Serbia coach Nikola Grbic swung the momentum back Serbia’s way and when Atanasijevic’s spike put them 20-18 they held the advantage to the end of the set.
The USA started the second set strongly, but Serbia took advantage of US errors to extend their lead. They then controlled the set thanks to good play by Uros Kovacevic and Atanasijevic to open a 2-0 advantage.
The USA fought back to win the third and then drew level to force the tie-break, but Serbia re-discovered their form and their block attack worked to perfection to seal the match and a place in the final.