The 2022 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League was the fourth edition of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, an annual men's international volleyball tournament. The competition was held between 7 June to 24 July 2022, and the final round took place in Unipol Arena, Bologna, Italy.[1][2]
France won their first VNL title after defeating the United States in five sets. It was the United States' second silver medal. Poland won their second bronze medal by sweeping the finals host Italy in straight sets.[4] Earvin N'Gapeth from France named the MVP of the tournament.[5]
Qualification
As there was no promotion or relegation in the 2021 VNL,was scheduled for the same 16 teams in 2021 are to compete in this year's edition.[6]
On 1 March 2022, FIVB declared Russia and Belarus not eligible for international and continental competitions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Russia was expeled from the competition.[7] On April 29, FIVB announced that China will replaces Russia for the competition.[8]
In the 2022 tournament, the format of play was changed. The new format will see 16 men's teams competing in pools of 8 teams during the pool phase. Each team plays 12 matches during the pool stage. Eight teams will then move into the final knockout phase of the competition.[9]
Final round
The VNL Finals will see the seven strongest teams along with the finals host country Italy moving directly to the knockout phase which will consist of eight matches in total: four quarterfinals, two semi-finals and the bronze and gold medal matches.
Final 8 direct elimination formula:[10]
The 1st ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the 8th ranked team, the 2nd ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the 7th ranked team, the 3rd ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the 6th ranked team, the 4th ranked team will play a quarterfinal match against the 5th ranked team.
The Host Team is placed in 1st position if the team is among the top 8 teams in the Final Standings after the VNL Preliminary Phase.
The Host Team is placed in 8th position if the team is not among the top 8 teams in the Final Standings after the VNL Preliminary Phase.
Rule changes
Court switch at the end of the sets to be eliminated due to COVID-19 safety guidelines and for a better television broadcasts.
Each team is allowed to call only one time-out during each set in the preliminary. The time-out lasts 30 seconds long.
Only one technical time-out is made when the leading team reaches 12 points.
Two time-outs per set are given to all matches in the Finals, one of them can only be called before technical time-out.
Live interview is introduced into matches during Set 2 and Set 3 in the Finals. Therefore, the breaks between Set 2 and Set 3 will extend to 5 minutes.
Pool composition
The overview of pools was released on 7 December 2021.[11]
Total number of victories (matches won, matches lost)
In the event of a tie, the following first tiebreaker will apply: The teams will be ranked by the most points gained per match as follows:
Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 points for the winner, 0 points for the loser
Match won 3–2: 2 points for the winner, 1 point for the loser
Match forfeited: 3 points for the winner, 0 points (0–25, 0–25, 0–25) for the loser
If teams are still tied after examining the number of victories and points gained, then the FIVB will examine the results in order to break the tie in the following order:
Sets quotient: if two or more teams are tied on the number of points gained, they will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of the number of all sets won by the number of all sets lost.
Points quotient: if the tie persists based on the sets quotient, the teams will be ranked by the quotient resulting from the division of all points scored by the total of points lost during all sets.
If the tie persists based on the points quotient, the tie will be broken based on the team that won the match of the Round Robin Phase between the tied teams. When the tie in points quotient is between three or more teams, these teams ranked taking into consideration only the matches involving the teams in question.
Athletes and organizations complained about the organization of the Finals including poor facilities of training halls, transportation arrangements and meals arrangement. FIVB later apologized for the incidents and arranged a meeting with national teams' captains.[15]
A.^ China forfeited the match on 22 June giving France a 3–0 win due to medical circumstances related to COVID-19.[16]
B.^ Germany forfeited the match on 23 June giving China a 3–0 win because they refused to play against China even though the Chinese athletes were cleared by local authorities after testing positive for COVID-19.[17]
^ ab(Best scorers determined by scored points from spike, block and serve).
^ ab(Best attackers determined by successful spikes).
^ ab(Best blockers determined by the stuff blocks, faults and rebounds).
^ ab(Best servers determined by aces, faults and hits).
^ ab(Best setters determined by running setts, faults and still sets).
^ ab(Best diggers determined by successful digs, faults and receptions).
^ ab(Best receivers determined by efficient receptions, faults and serve receptions).
References
^"FIVB Calendar". FIVB. Archived from the original on 2022-06-08.
^"Volleyball World announces host cities for 2022 Volleyball Nations League". volleyballworld. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
^"Croatia and Cuba secure Volleyball Challenger Cup titles (Both teams earn the right to compete in the 2023 Volleyball Nations League)". volleyballworld. 31 July 2022. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
^"France win spectacular final to snatch historic VNL gold". volleyballworld. 24 July 2022. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^"Earvin Ngapeth earns yet another MVP award". volleyballworld. 24 July 2022. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^"FIVB announces cancellation of Volleyball Challenger Cup 2021". FIVB. 16 April 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"FIVB declares Russia and Belarus not eligible for international and continental competitions". FIVB. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"China men's national team returns to Volleyball Nations League line-up". FIVB. 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"New Volleyball Nations League format announced". FIVB. 13 August 2021. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^"VNL 2022 Competition Formula". volleyballworld. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
^"Volleyball World announces host cities for 2022 Volleyball Nations League". FIVB. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^Preechachan (2023-07-10). "VNL FINALS INTRODUCE GREEN CARDS FOR FAIR PLAY". Asian Volleyball Confederation. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
^"Men's Statistics – FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2022". volleyballworld. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
^"Men's Final Statistics – FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2022". volleyballworld. Archived from the original on 2022-06-13.
^"Due to numerous complaints about organization of VNL's Final 8, FIVB held meeting with national teams' captains". WorldofVolley. 26 July 2022. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
^"FIVB and Volleyball World update on COVID-19 protocols at VNL 2022 (Confirmation of cancellation of China vs France men's match)". volleybalworld. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^"Confirmation of China vs Germany men's match cancellation". volleyballworld. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
External links
Fédération Internationale de Volleyball – official website
FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2022 – official website