2018 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League

2018 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League
Tournament details
Host nation	France
City	Lille (final round)
Dates	25 May – 8 July
Teams	16 (from 4 confederations)
Venue(s)	22 (in 22 host cities)
Champions	Russia (1st title)
Runners-up	France
Third place	United States
Fourth place	Brazil
Tournament awards
MVP	Maxim Mikhaylov
Best Setter	Benjamin Toniutti
Best OH	Taylor Sander; Dmitry Volkov;
Best MB	Kévin Le Roux; Dmitry Muserskiy;
Best OPP	Matt Anderson
Best Libero	Jenia Grebennikov
Tournament statistics
Matches played	130
Attendance	494,775 (3,806 per match)
Official website
	en.volleyballworld.com/en/vnl/2018
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The 2018 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League was the inaugural edition of the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League, a new annual international men's volleyball tournament contested by 16 national teams that replaced the former World League in the international calendar.^[1] The competition was held between May and July 2018, and the final round took place in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, Lille metropolitan area, France.^[2]^[3]

South Korea were the last placed challenger team after the preliminary round and were replaced by 2018 Challenger Cup winners Portugal in the 2019 edition.^[4]

Russia won the inaugural edition, defeating the home team in straight sets in the final.^[5] Both teams contesting the final had previously won the World League – Russia on three opportunities and France on two. United States, which also had won the World League twice, defeated the reigning Olympic champions and 9-time World League winners Brazil in straight sets for the bronze medal.^[6] Maxim Mikhaylov from Russia, who was the World League MVP in 2011, was elected the Most valuable player.^[7]

Qualification

Sixteen teams qualified for the competition. Twelve of them qualified as core teams which cannot face relegation. Other four teams were selected as challenger teams which could be relegated from the tournament.^[1]

Country	Confederation	Designation	Previous appearances			Previous best performance
Country	Confederation	Designation	Total	First	Last	Previous best performance
Argentina	CSV	Core team	0	None		None
Australia	AVC	Challenger team	0	None		None
Brazil	CSV	Core team	0	None		None
Bulgaria	CEV	Challenger team	0	None		None
Canada	NORCECA	Challenger team	0	None		None
China	AVC	Core team	0	None		None
France	CEV	Core team	0	None		None
Germany	CEV	Core team	0	None		None
Iran	AVC	Core team	0	None		None
Italy	CEV	Core team	0	None		None
Japan	AVC	Core team	0	None		None
Poland	CEV	Core team	0	None		None
Russia	CEV	Core team	0	None		None
Serbia	CEV	Core team	0	None		None
South Korea	AVC	Challenger team	0	None		None
United States	NORCECA	Core team	0	None		None

Format

Preliminary round

The 16 teams compete in a round-robin format with every core team hosting a pool at least once. The teams are divided into 4 pools of 4 teams at each week and compete five weeks long, for 120 matches. The top five teams after the preliminary round join the hosts of the final round to compete in the final round.^[1] The relegation takes into consideration only the 4 challenger teams. The last ranked challenger team will be excluded from the 2019 Nations League. The winners of the 2018 Challenger Cup will qualify for the next edition as a challenger team.^[8]

Final round

The six qualified teams play in 2 pools of 3 teams in round-robin. The top 2 teams of each pool qualify for the semifinals. The pool winners play against the runners-up in this round. The semifinals winners advance to compete for the Nations League title. The losers face each other in the third place match.

Pools composition

The overview of pools was released on February 16, 2018.^[2]

Preliminary round

Week 1
Pool 1 France	Pool 2 China	Pool 3 Poland	Pool 4 Serbia
Australia France Iran Japan	Argentina Bulgaria China United States	Canada Poland Russia South Korea	Brazil Germany Italy Serbia
Week 2
Pool 5 Bulgaria	Pool 6 Brazil	Pool 7 Argentina	Pool 8 Poland
Australia Bulgaria Russia Serbia	Brazil Japan South Korea United States	Argentina Canada Iran Italy	China France Germany Poland
Week 3
Pool 9 Canada	Pool 10 Japan	Pool 11 Russia	Pool 12 France
Australia Canada Germany United States	Bulgaria Italy Japan Poland	Brazil China Iran Russia	Argentina France Serbia South Korea
Week 4
Pool 13 South Korea	Pool 14 Germany	Pool 15 United States	Pool 16 Bulgaria
Australia China Italy South Korea	Argentina Germany Japan Russia	Iran Poland Serbia United States	Brazil Bulgaria Canada France
Week 5
Pool 17 Australia	Pool 18 China	Pool 19 Iran	Pool 20 Italy
Argentina Australia Brazil Poland	Canada China Japan Serbia	Bulgaria Germany Iran South Korea	France Italy Russia United States

Final round

Pool A	Pool B
France (Hosts) Serbia (Preliminary Round 3rd) Brazil (Preliminary Round 4th)	Russia (Preliminary Round 1st) United States (Preliminary Round 2nd) Poland (Preliminary Round 5th)

Venues

The list of host cities and venues was announced on 16 February 2018.^[2]

Preliminary round

Week 1
Pool 1	Pool 2	Pool 3	Pool 4
Rouen, France	Ningbo, China	Katowice (25 May) / Kraków (26–27 May), Poland	Kraljevo, Serbia
Kindarena	Beilun Gymnasium	Spodek / Tauron Arena Kraków	Kraljevo Sports Hall
Capacity: 5,700	Capacity: 8,000	Capacity: 11,500 / 15,000	Capacity: 3,331

Week 2
Pool 5	Pool 6	Pool 7	Pool 8
Sofia, Bulgaria	Goiânia, Brazil	San Juan, Argentina	Łódź, Poland
Armeets Arena	Goiânia Arena	Estadio Aldo Cantoni	Atlas Arena
Capacity: 12,373	Capacity: 11,333	Capacity: 8,000	Capacity: 13,805

Week 3
Pool 9	Pool 10	Pool 11	Pool 12
Ottawa, Canada	Osaka, Japan	Ufa, Russia	Aix-en-Provence, France
TD Place Arena	Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium	Ufa Arena	Aréna du Pays d'Aix
Capacity: 9,500	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 8,250	Capacity: 6,004

Week 4
Pool 13	Pool 14	Pool 15	Pool 16
Seoul, South Korea	Ludwigsburg, Germany	Hoffman Estates, United States	Varna, Bulgaria
Jangchung Arena	Arena Ludwigsburg	Sears Centre Arena	Palace of Culture and Sports
Capacity: 4,507	Capacity: 5,325	Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 6,000

Week 5
Pool 17	Pool 18	Pool 19	Pool 20
Melbourne, Australia	Jiangmen, China	Tehran, Iran	Modena, Italy
Hisense Arena	Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium	Azadi Indoor Stadium	PalaPanini
Capacity: 10,500	Capacity: 8,500	Capacity: 12,000	Capacity: 4,968

Final round

All matches
Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Capacity: 28,010

Competition schedule

●	Preliminary round	●	Final round

Week 1 25–27 May	Week 2 1–3 Jun	Week 3 8–10 Jun	Week 4 15–17 Jun	Week 5 22–24 Jun	Week 6 Rest Week	Week 7 4–8 Jul
24 matches	24 matches	24 matches	24 matches	24 matches		10 matches

Pool standing procedure

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.

Squads

The 16 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 21 players, which every week's 14-player roster must be selected from. Each country must declare its 14-player roster two days before the start of each week's round-robin competition.

Preliminary round

Ranking

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification or relegation
1	France^[a]	15	12	3	35	38	16	2.375	1295	1140	1.136	Final round
2	Russia	15	11	4	34	36	14	2.571	1191	1096	1.087	Final round
3	United States	15	11	4	33	37	19	1.947	1294	1183	1.094
4	Serbia	15	11	4	29	33	24	1.375	1289	1255	1.027
5	Brazil	15	10	5	30	34	21	1.619	1280	1213	1.055
6	Poland	15	10	5	29	32	19	1.684	1221	1124	1.086
7	Canada	15	8	7	25	29	24	1.208	1219	1227	0.993
8	Italy	15	8	7	24	30	28	1.071	1315	1296	1.015
9	Germany	15	7	8	23	29	30	0.967	1299	1307	0.994
10	Iran	15	7	8	21	29	30	0.967	1355	1344	1.008
11	Bulgaria	15	6	9	17	26	34	0.765	1288	1351	0.953
12	Japan	15	6	9	15	23	37	0.622	1301	1374	0.947
13	Australia	15	5	10	15	21	35	0.600	1236	1340	0.922
14	Argentina	15	4	11	15	23	34	0.676	1270	1326	0.958
15	China	15	3	12	9	15	39	0.385	1173	1291	0.909
16	South Korea	15	1	14	6	11	42	0.262	1108	1267	0.875	Excluded from the 2019 Nations League

Source: VNL 2018 standings
Notes:

^ Qualified as hosts

Week 1

Pool 1

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Total	Report
25 May	17:00	Australia	1–3	Japan	18–25	15–25	25–23	17–25	75–98	P2 Report
25 May	20:00	France	3–1	Iran	25–20	24–26	25–20	25–17	99–83	P2 Report
26 May	17:00	Australia	0–3	Iran	23–25	23–25	21–25		67–75	P2 Report
26 May	20:00	France	3–1	Japan	25–16	20–25	25–20	25–22	95–83	P2 Report
27 May	15:00	Iran	1–3	Japan	22–25	28–30	25–23	23–25	98–103	P2 Report
27 May	18:00	France	3–0	Australia	25–17	25–20	36–34		86–71	P2 Report

Pool 2

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+08:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
25 May	16:00	Argentina	2–3	United States	27–25	26–24	24–26	21–25	10–15	108–115	P2 Report
25 May	19:30	China	2–3	Bulgaria	18–25	25–18	25–19	17–25	11–15	96–102	P2 Report
26 May	16:00	Bulgaria	1–3	United States	19–25	25–22	19–25	20–25		83–97	P2 Report
26 May	19:30	China	3–0	Argentina	25–22	25–21	25–18			75–61	P2 Report
27 May	16:00	Bulgaria	3–1	Argentina	19–25	25–19	25–21	25–22		94–87	P2 Report
27 May	19:30	China	0–3	United States	20–25	24–26	18–25			62–76	P2 Report

Pool 3

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Total	Report
25 May	16:00	Poland	3–0	South Korea	25–20	25–18	25–21		75–59	P2 Report
25 May	19:00	Russia	3–0	Canada	26–24	25–14	25–19		76–57	P2 Report
26 May	16:00	Poland	3–0	Russia	25–15	25–23	25–23		75–61	P2 Report
26 May	19:00	Canada	3–0	South Korea	25–20	25–17	25–19		75–56	P2 Report
27 May	16:00	Poland	3–1	Canada	25–21	26–24	21–25	25–17	97–87	P2 Report
27 May	19:00	South Korea	0–3	Russia	26–28	21–25	15–25		62–78	P2 Report

Pool 4

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
25 May	17:00	Germany	1–3	Italy	18–25	19–25	25–23	20–25		82–98	P2 Report
25 May	20:00	Serbia	0–3	Brazil	22–25	22–25	24–26			68–76	P2 Report
26 May	16:00	Italy	3–2	Brazil	18–25	25–19	25–21	24–26	15–8	107–99	P2 Report
26 May	19:00	Germany	1–3	Serbia	25–19	21–25	16–25	14–25		76–94	P2 Report
27 May	16:00	Brazil	3–0	Germany	26–24	25–23	26–24			77–71	P2 Report
27 May	19:00	Italy	3–0	Serbia	25–21	25–18	25–16			75–55	P2 Report

Week 2

Pool 5

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+03:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
1 Jun	17:00	Australia	1–3	Russia	18–25	19–25	25–18	22–25		84–93	P2 Report
1 Jun	20:00	Bulgaria	2–3	Serbia	17–25	25–23	25–23	21–25	14–16	102–112	P2 Report
2 Jun	17:00	Russia	2–3	Serbia	25–20	23–25	23–25	25–22	12–15	108–107	P2 Report
2 Jun	20:05	Bulgaria	0–3	Australia	23–25	23–25	24–26			70–76	P2 Report
3 Jun	17:00	Serbia	3–2	Australia	25–23	25–19	20–25	25–27	15–9	110–103	P2 Report
3 Jun	20:00	Bulgaria	0–3	Russia	17–25	15–25	21–25			53–75	P2 Report

Pool 6

All times are Brasília Time (UTC−03:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
1 Jun	12:15	Japan	2–3	United States	25–23	25–13	18–25	20–25	10–15	98–101	P2 Report
1 Jun	15:05	Brazil	3–0	South Korea	25–21	25–19	25–19			75–59	P2 Report
2 Jun	08:35	Brazil	3–0	Japan	26–24	25–19	25–20			76–63	P2 Report
2 Jun	11:20	South Korea	0–3	United States	23–25	21–25	11–25			55–75	P2 Report
3 Jun	10:05	South Korea	2–3	Japan	29–27	19–25	25–16	26–28	12–15	111–111	P2 Report
3 Jun	13:20	Brazil	3–2	United States	21–25	20–25	25–19	25–20	20–18	111–107	P2 Report

Pool 7

All times are Argentina Time (UTC−03:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
1 Jun	18:10	Canada	3–1	Italy	22–25	27–25	25–23	25–16		99–89	P2 Report
1 Jun	21:10	Argentina	2–3	Iran	25–21	22–25	22–25	26–24	9–15	104–110	P2 Report
2 Jun	18:10	Iran	0–3	Italy	23–25	18–25	20–25			61–75	P2 Report
2 Jun	21:10	Argentina	1–3	Canada	22–25	18–25	26–24	23–25		89–99	P2 Report
3 Jun	16:10	Iran	1–3	Canada	23–25	22–25	25–21	21–25		91–96	P2 Report
3 Jun	19:10	Argentina	3–0	Italy	25–19	33–31	25–20			83–70	P2 Report

Pool 8

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
1 Jun	16:00	Poland	3–0	France	25–19	25–20	25–22			75–61	P2 Report
1 Jun	19:00	China	1–3	Germany	25–23	18–25	22–25	21–25		86–98	P2 Report
2 Jun	16:00	Poland	3–0	China	25–19	25–18	25–21			75–58	P2 Report
2 Jun	19:00	Germany	0–3	France	21–25	18–25	23–25			62–75	P2 Report
3 Jun	16:00	Poland	1–3	Germany	18–25	21–25	25–21	25–27		89–98	P2 Report
3 Jun	19:00	France	2–3	China	25–16	22–25	21–25	25–16	13–15	106–97	P2 Report

Week 3

Pool 9

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−04:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Jun	16:40	Germany	3–0	United States	25–19	25–22	25–13			75–54	P2 Report
8 Jun	19:40	Canada	3–0	Australia	25–19	26–24	25–19			76–62	P2 Report
9 Jun	16:10	United States	3–1	Australia	20–25	25–20	25–15	25–17		95–77	P2 Report
9 Jun	19:10	Canada	1–3	Germany	23–25	22–25	25–20	19–25		89–95	P2 Report
10 Jun	13:10	Australia	3–2	Germany	25–22	18–25	17–25	25–18	15–11	100–101	P2 Report
10 Jun	16:10	Canada	1–3	United States	25–23	13–25	19–25	20–25		77–98	P2 Report

Pool 10

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Jun	15:40	Italy	2–3	Poland	17–25	25–21	17–25	31–29	10–15	100–115	P2 Report
8 Jun	19:10	Japan	0–3	Bulgaria	14–25	21–25	27–29			62–79	P2 Report
9 Jun	12:40	Italy	3–1	Bulgaria	25–23	25–19	21–25	25–19		96–86	P2 Report
9 Jun	16:10	Japan	0–3	Poland	16–25	21–25	20–25			57–75	P2 Report
10 Jun	11:10	Bulgaria	1–3	Poland	21–25	26–24	18–25	19–25		84–99	P2 Report
10 Jun	14:40	Japan	3–2	Italy	21–25	25–21	23–25	25–22	15–10	109–103	P2 Report

Pool 11

All times are Yekaterinburg Time (UTC+05:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Jun	16:30	China	0–3	Iran	19–25	20–25	15–25			54–75	P2 Report
8 Jun	19:00	Russia	1–3	Brazil	21–25	20–25	27–25	18–25		86–100	P2 Report
9 Jun	16:30	Iran	2–3	Brazil	17–25	25–23	19–25	25–21	13–15	99–109	P2 Report
9 Jun	19:00	Russia	3–0	China	25–23	25–23	31–29			81–75	P2 Report
10 Jun	16:30	China	0–3	Brazil	20–25	19–25	25–27			64–77	P2 Report
10 Jun	19:00	Russia	3–1	Iran	28–30	25–23	27–25	25–21		105–99	P2 Report

Pool 12

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Total	Report
8 Jun	17:00	Argentina	1–3	Serbia	25–20	23–25	15–25	22–25	85–95	P2 Report
8 Jun	20:45	France	3–0	South Korea	25–21	25–18	25–22		75–61	P2 Report
9 Jun	18:00	France	3–1	Argentina	25–18	25–16	23–25	25–20	98–79	P2 Report
9 Jun	21:00	South Korea	0–3	Serbia	16–25	23–25	19–25		58–75	P2 Report
10 Jun	15:00	South Korea	0–3	Argentina	20–25	23–25	24–26		67–76	P2 Report
10 Jun	18:00	France	3–0	Serbia	31–29	25–16	25–15		81–60	P2 Report

Week 4

Pool 13

All times are Korea Standard Time (UTC+09:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
15 Jun	16:00	China	1–3	Italy	23–25	21–25	25–19	17–25		86–94	P2 Report
15 Jun	19:00	South Korea	1–3	Australia	25–23	19–25	19–25	21–25		84–98	P2 Report
16 Jun	14:00	South Korea	2–3	Italy	23–25	19–25	25–22	25–22	12–15	104–109	P2 Report
16 Jun	17:00	Australia	3–1	China	25–27	41–39	29–27	25–21		120–114	P2 Report
17 Jun	14:00	South Korea	3–0	China	25–21	25–21	25–22			75–64	P2 Report
17 Jun	17:00	Italy	1–3	Australia	25–27	25–18	19–25	23–25		92–95	P2 Report

Pool 14

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
15 Jun	18:00	Germany	2–3	Japan	22–25	25–21	15–25	25–20	12–15	99–106	P2 Report
15 Jun	20:30	Russia	3–0	Argentina	25–20	25–20	26–24			76–64	P2 Report
16 Jun	16:00	Germany	3–1	Argentina	25–19	25–19	20–25	25–22		95–85	P2 Report
16 Jun	19:00	Russia	3–0	Japan	25–16	25–22	25–23			75–61	P2 Report
17 Jun	12:00	Argentina	2–3	Japan	24–26	25–12	25–23	23–25	11–15	108–101	P2 Report
17 Jun	15:00	Germany	0–3	Russia	18–25	24–26	18–25			60–76	P2 Report

Pool 15

All times are Central Daylight Time (UTC−05:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
15 Jun	17:30	Poland	0–3	Iran	24–26	24–26	22–25			70–77	P2 Report
15 Jun	20:00	United States	3–0	Serbia	25–22	25–16	25–14			75–52	P2 Report
16 Jun	14:00	Iran	2–3	Serbia	25–21	22–25	25–27	25–20	11–15	108–108	P2 Report
16 Jun	19:30	United States	3–0	Poland	25–20	25–19	25–19			75–58	P2 Report
17 Jun	12:00	Poland	0–3	Serbia	23–25	23–25	23–25			69–75	P2 Report
17 Jun	17:30	United States	3–0	Iran	29–27	25–20	26–24			80–71	P2 Report

Pool 16

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+03:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
15 Jun	15:30	Canada	3–0	Brazil	25–22	34–32	25–23			84–77	P2 Report
15 Jun	18:30	Bulgaria	0–3	France	21–25	20–25	23–25			64–75	P2 Report
16 Jun	15:30	France	3–0	Brazil	25–19	25–23	25–23			75–65	P2 Report
16 Jun	18:30	Bulgaria	3–0	Canada	25–22	25–19	29–27			79–68	P2 Report
17 Jun	15:30	France	3–2	Canada	25–19	22–25	25–22	24–26	16–14	112–106	P2 Report
17 Jun	18:30	Bulgaria	3–2	Brazil	25–22	19–25	25–15	18–25	15–12	102–99	P2 Report

Week 5

Pool 17

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Total	Report
22 Jun	18:40	Poland	3–0	Argentina	26–24	25–20	29–27		80–71	P2 Report
22 Jun	21:10	Australia	0–3	Brazil	22–25	19–25	19–25		60–75	P2 Report
23 Jun	17:40	Australia	1–3	Argentina	20–25	19–25	25–20	21–25	85–95	P2 Report
23 Jun	20:10	Brazil	3–1	Poland	25–22	25–23	23–25	25–23	98–93	P2 Report
24 Jun	12:10	Brazil	0–3	Argentina	23–25	22–25	21–25		66–75	P2 Report
24 Jun	15:10	Australia	0–3	Poland	16–25	24–26	23–25		63–76	P2 Report

Pool 18

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+08:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Total	Report
22 Jun	16:00	Canada	0–3	Serbia	21–25	18–25	17–25		56–75	P2 Report
22 Jun	19:30	China	3–1	Japan	25–16	25–21	18–25	25–22	93–84	P2 Report
23 Jun	16:00	Japan	1–3	Serbia	28–26	33–35	21–25	18–25	100–111	P2 Report
23 Jun	19:30	China	0–3	Canada	21–25	23–25	22–25		66–75	P2 Report
24 Jun	16:00	Japan	0–3	Canada	23–25	20–25	22–25		65–75	P2 Report
24 Jun	19:30	China	1–3	Serbia	21–25	22–25	25–17	15–25	83–92	P2 Report

Pool 19

All times are Iran Daylight Time (UTC+04:30).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
22 Jun	16:00	Bulgaria	2–3	Germany	25–21	22–25	25–23	23–25	13–15	108–109	P2 Report
22 Jun	19:15	Iran	3–1	South Korea	27–25	23–25	25–22	25–23		100–95	P2 Report
23 Jun	16:00	Germany	3–0	South Korea	25–23	25–18	25–19			75–60	P2 Report
23 Jun	18:30	Iran	3–1	Bulgaria	25–22	25–15	23–25	25–14		98–76	P2 Report
24 Jun	16:00	Bulgaria	3–2	South Korea	19–25	25–22	25–18	22–25	15–12	106–102	P2 Report
24 Jun	18:30	Iran	3–2	Germany	25–20	23–25	25–22	22–25	15–11	110–103	P2 Report

Pool 20

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
22 Jun	17:30	United States	2–3	France	21–25	25–23	28–26	20–25	12–15	106–114	P2 Report
22 Jun	20:50	Italy	0–3	Russia	21–25	22–25	20–25			63–75	P2 Report
23 Jun	17:30	United States	0–3	Russia	23–25	15–25	22–25			60–75	P2 Report
23 Jun	20:30	Italy	3–0	France	25–21	25–22	27–25			77–68	P2 Report
24 Jun	17:30	France	3–0	Russia	25–20	25–13	25–18			75–51	P2 Report
24 Jun	20:30	Italy	0–3	United States	23–25	17–25	27–29			67–79	P2 Report

Final round

All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00).

Pool play

Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	France	2	2	0	5	6	2	3.000	183	159	1.151	Semifinals
2	Brazil	2	1	1	4	5	3	1.667	183	169	1.083	Semifinals
3	Serbia	2	0	2	0	0	6	0.000	115	153	0.752

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
4 Jul	20:45	France	3–2	Brazil	22–25	25–20	21–25	25–22	15–13	108–105	P2 Report
5 Jul	20:45	Serbia	0–3	Brazil	16–25	26–28	19–25			61–78	P2 Report
6 Jul	20:45	France	3–0	Serbia	25–19	25–18	25–17			75–54	P2 Report

Pool B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	Pts	SW	SL	SR	SPW	SPL	SPR	Qualification
1	Russia	2	2	0	6	6	1	6.000	172	147	1.170	Semifinals
2	United States	2	1	1	3	3	3	1.000	142	136	1.044	Semifinals
3	Poland	2	0	2	0	1	6	0.167	144	175	0.823

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Total	Report
4 Jul	18:00	Russia	3–1	Poland	25–18	25–23	22–25	25–17	97–83	P2 Report
5 Jul	18:00	United States	3–0	Poland	28–26	25–17	25–18		78–61	P2 Report
6 Jul	18:00	Russia	3–0	United States	25–22	25–21	25–21		75–64	P2 Report

Final four

Semifinals		Final

7 July

France	3
		8 July
United States	2
		France	0
7 July
		Russia	3
Russia	3

Brazil	0
		3rd place match

		8 July

		United States	3

		Brazil	0

Semifinals

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
7 Jul	14:00	France	3–2	United States	25–18	25–17	23–25	24–26	15–13	112–99	P2 Report
7 Jul	17:00	Russia	3–0	Brazil	25–17	25–18	25–14			75–49	P2 Report

3rd place match

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Jul	17:00	United States	3–0	Brazil	25–21	28–26	28–26			81–73	P2 Report

Final

Date	Time		Score		Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set 4	Set 5	Total	Report
8 Jul	20:45	France	0–3	Russia	22–25	20–25	23–25			65–75	P2 Report

Final standing

Rank	Team
	Russia
	France
	United States
4	Brazil
5	Poland
5	Serbia
7	Canada
8	Italy
9	Germany
10	Iran
11	Bulgaria
12	Japan
13	Australia
14	Argentina
15	China
16	South Korea

Source: VNL 2018 final standings

2018 Men's Nations League champions
Russia First title

14-man roster

Ilya Vlasov, Dmitry Kovalyov, Artem Volvich, Anton Karpukhov, Dmitry Volkov (c), Aleksandr Sokolov, Igor Filippov, Dmitry Muserskiy, Viktor Poletaev, Maxim Mikhaylov, Egor Kliuka, Romanas Shkulyavichus, Igor Kobzar, Aleksey Kabeshov

Head coach

Sergey Shlyapnikov

Awards

Most valuable player
Maxim Mikhaylov (RUS)
Best setter
Benjamin Toniutti (FRA)
Best outside spikers
Taylor Sander (USA)

Dmitry Volkov (RUS)
Best middle blockers
Kévin Le Roux (FRA)

Dmitry Muserskiy (RUS)
Best opposite spiker
Matt Anderson (USA)
Best libero
Jenia Grebennikov (FRA)

Statistics leaders

Preliminary round

Statistics leaders correct at the end of preliminary round.^[9]

Best Scorers
	Player	Spikes	Blocks	Serves	Total
1	Jiang Chuan	242	19	13	274
2	Wallace de Souza	181	19	16	216
3	Milad Ebadipour	166	13	14	193
4	Yūji Nishida	167	6	14	187
5	Dmitry Muserskiy	146	25	14	185

Best Attackers
	Player	Spikes	Faults	Shots	Total	%
1	Dmitry Muserskiy	146	15	62	223	65.47
2	Jiang Chuan	242	91	107	440	55.00
3	Matt Anderson	136	44	72	252	53.97
4	Dražen Luburić	136	37	86	259	52.51
5	Christian Fromm	133	42	83	259	52.51

Best Blockers
	Player	Blocks	Faults	Rebounds	Total	Avg
1	Svetoslav Gotsev	34	69	80	183	0.57
2	Agustín Loser	32	80	92	204	0.56
3	Ilya Vlasov	27	79	60	166	0.54
4	Rao Shuhan	29	54	33	116	0.54
5	Jakub Kochanowski	26	45	50	121	0.51

Best Servers
	Player	Aces	Faults	Hits	Total	Avg
1	Earvin N'Gapeth	17	34	74	125	0.31
2	Jan Zimmermann	18	25	130	173	0.31
3	Matt Anderson	17	44	98	159	0.30
4	Wallace de Souza	16	18	139	173	0.29
5	Graham Vigrass	15	17	158	190	0.28

Best Setters
	Player	Running	Faults	Still	Total	Avg
1	Maximiliano Cavanna	995	5	285	1285	17.46
2	Saeid Marouf	830	11	323	1164	14.07
3	Igor Kobzar	669	9	148	826	13.38
4	TJ Sanders	679	7	300	986	12.81
5	Micah Christenson	694	4	44	742	12.39

Best Diggers
	Player	Digs	Faults	Receptions	Total	Avg
1	Luke Perry	73	0	136	209	1.30
2	Maximiliano Cavanna	68	0	104	172	1.19
3	Micah Christenson	65	0	35	100	1.16
4	Jenia Grebennikov	60	0	89	149	1.11
5	Paweł Zatorski	54	12	71	137	1.06

Best Receivers
	Player	Excellents	Faults	Serve	Total	%
1	Paweł Zatorski	59	9	137	205	24.39
2	Filippo Lanza	61	12	144	217	22.58
3	Tatsuya Fukuzawa	82	15	215	312	21.47
4	Tomás López	63	9	190	262	20.61
5	Santiago Danani	91	16	260	367	20.44

Final round

Statistics leaders correct at the end of final round.^[10]

Best Scorers
	Player	Spikes	Blocks	Serves	Total
1	Stéphen Boyer	64	8	3	75
2	Earvin N'Gapeth	58	4	5	67
3	Maxim Mikhaylov	53	5	5	63
4	Wallace de Souza	59	2	0	61
5	Matt Anderson	46	1	4	51

Best Attackers
	Player	Spikes	Faults	Shots	Total	%
1	Bartosz Kurek	21	5	7	33	63.64
2	Stéphen Boyer	64	17	26	107	59.81
3	Maxim Mikhaylov	53	10	26	89	59.55
4	Wallace de Souza	59	20	22	101	58.42
5	Marko Ivović	15	6	6	27	55.56

Best Blockers
	Player	Blocks	Faults	Rebounds	Total	Avg
1	Lucas Saatkamp	11	16	27	54	0.79
2	Egor Kliuka	9	7	3	19	0.69
3	Maurício Souza	9	18	12	39	0.64
4	Kévin Le Roux	9	22	12	43	0.56
5	Dmitry Volkov	7	10	10	27	0.54

Best Servers
	Player	Aces	Faults	Hits	Total	Avg
1	Egor Kliuka	6	6	38	50	0.46
2	Thibault Rossard	7	10	30	47	0.44
3	Dmitry Volkov	5	13	35	53	0.38
4	Maxim Mikhaylov	5	10	40	55	0.38
5	Srećko Lisinac	2	4	10	16	0.33

Best Setters
	Player	Running	Faults	Still	Total	Avg
1	Bruno Rezende	252	3	4	259	18.00
2	Dmitry Kovalyov	226	5	2	233	17.38
3	Benjamin Toniutti	276	1	0	277	17.25
4	Micah Christenson	238	1	2	241	17.00
5	Nikola Jovović	95	0	1	96	15.83

Best Diggers
	Player	Digs	Faults	Receptions	Total	Avg
1	Paweł Zatorski	14	0	16	30	2.00
2	Thales Hoss	26	0	29	55	1.86
3	Dmitry Volkov	18	0	12	30	1.38
4	Earvin N'Gapeth	20	0	11	31	1.25
5	Aleksey Kabeshov	16	0	16	32	1.23

Best Receivers
	Player	Excellents	Faults	Serve	Total	%
1	Thales Hoss	24	4	47	75	26.67
2	Lucas Lóh	20	5	45	70	21.43
3	Taylor Sander	19	4	49	72	20.83
4	Jenia Grebennikov	13	2	61	76	14.47
5	Earvin N'Gapeth	18	4	77	99	14.14

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "FIVB announces the Volleyball Nations League". FIVB. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Pools Overview Release for Thrilling Inaugural Season VNL". FIVB. 16 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
^ "Lille, France selected to host FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League Finals". FIVB. 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
^ "Portugal join world's elite for 2019 Men's VNL". FIVB. 24 June 2018. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
^ "Russia claim first world gold in five years at historical 2018 VNL". FIVB. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
^ "Russell roars as the US snatch bronze in Lille". FIVB. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
^ "Mikhaylov leads star-studded VNL Dream Team". FIVB. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
^ "Six teams line up for Volleyball Challenger Cup and one open berth in 2019 Men's VNL". FIVB.org. 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
^ "Men's Statistics - FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2018". FIVB.org. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
^ "Men's Statistics - FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2018". FIVB.org. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

External links

Official website

[table_note_FRA0.86198195901792-9] Qualified as hosts

[format-1] "FIVB announces the Volleyball Nations League". FIVB. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.

[pools-2] "Pools Overview Release for Thrilling Inaugural Season VNL". FIVB. 16 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.

[3] "Lille, France selected to host FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League Finals". FIVB. 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2018.

[4] "Portugal join world's elite for 2019 Men's VNL". FIVB. 24 June 2018. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2018.

[5] "Russia claim first world gold in five years at historical 2018 VNL". FIVB. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

[6] "Russell roars as the US snatch bronze in Lille". FIVB. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

[mvp-7] "Mikhaylov leads star-studded VNL Dream Team". FIVB. 8 July 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

[8] "Six teams line up for Volleyball Challenger Cup and one open berth in 2019 Men's VNL". FIVB.org. 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.

[10] "Men's Statistics - FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2018". FIVB.org. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2018.

[11] "Men's Statistics - FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2018". FIVB.org. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

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[a]

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Qualification

Format

Preliminary round

Final round

Pools composition

Preliminary round

Final round

Venues

Preliminary round

Final round

Competition schedule

Pool standing procedure

Squads

Preliminary round

Ranking

Week 1

Pool 1

Pool 2

Pool 3

Pool 4

Week 2

Pool 5

Pool 6

Pool 7

Pool 8

Week 3

Pool 9

Pool 10

Pool 11

Pool 12

Week 4

Pool 13

Pool 14

Pool 15

Pool 16

Week 5

Pool 17

Pool 18

Pool 19

Pool 20

Final round

Pool play

Pool A

Pool B

Final four

Semifinals

3rd place match

Final

Final standing

Awards

Statistics leaders

Preliminary round

Final round

See also

References

External links