Serbia is a major Balkan nation. It has been one of the volleyball powerhouses since the days of the former Yugoslavia, and at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the team won a stunning gold medal under the leadership of ace player Miljuković. Current coach Kovac was one of the members of that gold medal team. Although they missed out on a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, their skills are well-known, having won the European Championships in 2019. Most of the members are talented players who play in top leagues overseas, such as in Italy and Russia.
Recent major achievements
FIVB World Ranking 10th (as of 30/05/21)
Not participating in the Tokyo Olympics
2019
No World Cup participation
VNL 11th place
European Championship Winner
2018
World Championships 4th place
VNL 5th place
Nations League 2021 results
As of June 2
vs Slovenia 3-1
vs Poland ●1-3
vs Italy 3-1
2 wins, 1 loss, 9th place
Registered Members
Outside hitter (5)
#2 Uroš Kovacevic 28/ 197/ 355
#8 Marko Ivovic 30/ 194/ 365
10 Milan Kujundzic 23/ 196/ 348
12 Pavle Peric 22/ 207/ 355
26 Tavide Kovac 21/ 196/ 324
Middle Blocker (4)
#7 Petar Krasmanovic 31/ 205/ 354
13 Stevan Simic 25/ 201/ 330
18 Marko Podrascanin (C) 33/ 204/ 358
20 Srecko Lisinac 29/ 205/ 370
Opposite(3)
14 Alexander Atanasevich 29/ 202/ 360
16 Drazen Lubrich 27/ 202/ 337
23 Pozidar Vučićević 22/ 205/ 355
Setter (3)
#9 Nikola Jovović 29/ 197/ 335
11 Alexa Batak 21/ 198/ 325
21 Vuk Todorovic 23/ 190/ 315
Libero (2)
#3 Milorad Kapur 30/ 182/ 313
#6 Nikola Pekovic 31/ 176/ 305
Average age: 26.7
Average height (excluding libero): 199.9cm
Average height reached: 345.7 cm
Head Coach: Slobodan Kovac
As always, Serbia is full of "vics".
Main starting lineup
OH2 Kovacevic
OH5 Ivovic
MB3 Krasmanovic
MB6 Podrascanin
OP Lubrić
S Jovovic
L. Pekovic
Player to watch: Marko Ivovic
Photo by FIVB
He is one of Serbia's main scorers. Although he is small for a volleyball player at 194cm, he boasts outstanding jumping ability, reaching a height of 365cm! Even when watching the video, the sharp spikes and serves that he unleashes from his jumps are overwhelming! He has played for Novosibrisk in the Russian League for three seasons since the 2018/19 season, and his skills are highly regarded in Russia. In the World League 2016, the predecessor tournament to the Nations League, he led Serbia to victory and was named the tournament MVP. It will be interesting to see if he can lead Serbia to their first victory in five years!
Other than that, Technician Southpaw OHKovacevicHe has experience playing for Japan's JT and is currently playing in the Russian league.LubrichThe only thing that's unfortunate is that MB, which I introduced in my previous article,LisinacHe is one of the best midfielders in the world, but he injured his leg in the match against Slovenia on Day 1 and is off the bench. We don't know the exact condition of his injury, but it may be difficult for him to return during the tournament.
The key to Japan's victory is the serve
Serbia's setter, Jovovic, uses quicks aggressively even from far away from the net. However, Serbia does not have an absolute ace like the Netherlands' Nimir. Therefore, if Japan can reduce the opponent's options by attacking with serves and win with a total defense of blocks and digs, it will be much closer to victory. Among the outside hitters, Ivovic is weaker at receiving, so it will be important to focus serves on him and reduce his opportunities to participate in the attack. I'm looking forward to the jump serves of Ishikawa and Takahashi Ai!
Match duration
June 3rd (Thu) 20:00～Volleyball TV
TV broadcast (recording)
Friday, June 4th 16:30~ BS-TBS
BE PART OF THE GAME!→Volleyball Nations League 2021
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