Wroclaw, Poland, September 7, 2014 - The stages are ready and the actors prepared to perform as the majestic show of the 2014 FIVB Men’s World Championship moves on to its second round of matches with sixteen teams in contention for the top honors in the quadrennial competition taking place in Poland.
Three-time defending champions Brazil, reigning Olympic champions Russia and hosts and sixth world-ranked Poland all advanced to the second phase of the competition with victories in each of their five appearances during the opening round in Pools B, C and A, respectively, while the No. 13 France finished atop of Pool D with four victories on their tally.
The field of 16 teams was finished on Super Sunday’s action with the sides representing United States, Italy, Finland, Cuba and Australia joining the 11 squads already with their tickets to continue the journey across Poland.
Positions:
Pool A: 1. Poland (5-0, 15), 2. Serbia (4-1, 12), 3. Argentina (3-2, 9), Australia (2-3, 5), Venezuela (1-4, 4), Cameroon (0-5, 0).
Pool B: 1. Brazil (5-0, 14), 2. Germany (4-1, 12), 3. Finland (3-2, 8), Cuba (2-3, 6), Korea (1-4, 4), Tunisia (0-5, 1).
Pool C: 1. Russia (5-0, 14), 2. Canada (4-1, 11), 3. Bulgaria (3-2, 10), China (2-3, 6), Mexico (1-4, 2), Egypt (0-5, 2).
Pool D: 1. France (4-1, 12), 2. Iran (4-1, 11), 3. United States (3-2, 9), Italy (2-3, 5), Belgium (1-4, 5), Puerto Rico (1-4, 3).
Pool A in Wroclaw
Australia 3, Venezuela 2
Australia recovered from a 2-1 deficit and went on to achieve a five-set (25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-9) victory in the winners-take-all match with Venezuela for the last ticket of Pool A to the second round.
Key facts
• Venezuela committed 38 unforced errors to 23 by Australia
• It was the first ever meeting of these two sides in a major tournament
• Edgar’s 25 points are the highest total for an Australian player in the event
Thomas Edgar led the Aussies with 25 points, supported by Aidan Zingel who tallied 15, including five blocks. Adam White contributed three blocks among his 10 points. Venezuela’s Kervin Piñerua finished with 24 while Maximo Montoya added 18 in the loss.
Poland 3, Argentina 0
Poland won Pool A and remained unbeaten as they defeated Argentina in straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-23). The Polish concluded with a 5-0 win-loss record and the maximum 15 points while dropping just one set in the process. Argentina closed at 3-2.
• Poland have won the last two meetings at world championship since 2006
• Both teams sit now at 2-2 after four matches at the world championship
• Poland are undefeated in their last 23 matches against Argentina at major tournaments
Mariusz Wlazly had 16 points, including four aces, as the star player of Poland in the match while Michal Winiarski also contributed 16 with two blocks. Sebastian Sole and Jose Luis González finished with 11 and 10 points for Argentina.
Serbia 3, Cameroon 1
Serbia finished in second place of Pool A as they defeated Cameroon 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 29-27, 25-17) in the last match of Sunday at Centennial Hall. The Serbians concluded with a 4-1 record and 12 points while Cameroon left the competition winless in five outings. Serbia held a slight advantage in blocks 11-10 but dominated the opposition in points from the service line 7-3.
Key facts
• Cameroon have won two sets n their six matches against European teams
• It was the fourth victory in a row for Serbia after losing to Poland on opening day
• It was the first match between the two teams at world championships
Uros Kovacevic and Marko Ivovic contributed 21 and 19 points, respectively, in the victory while Sasa Starovic charted 17. Nathan Wounembaina led Cameroon with 18 points and Jean Patrice Ndaki notched 16.
Pool B in Katowice
Finland 3, Tunisia 0
Finland qualified to the second round after their 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-20) over Tunisia which leave the tournament winless in five outings. The Finns (3-2, 8 points) dominated from start to finish and held clear advantages in spikes (44-28), blocks (9-5) and service winners (7-2).
Key facts
• Finland have won their three matches against Tunisia
• Finland have won at least three or four matches in each editions played since winning only one in 1962
Finland’s Urpo Sivula paced the winning attack with 17 points, followed by Olli Kunnari and Mikko Oivanen with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Marouen Garci had 12 points as the best for the defeated side.
Germany 3, Korea 0
Germany blanked Korea 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-21) finishing Pool B with a 4-1 record and 12 points as Denys Kaliberda and Gyorgy Grozer contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the comfortable win.
Key facts
• It was the fourth consecutive victory for Germany matching their streak in 2006
• The victory gives Germany a 2-1 lead in the head-to head meetings at WCH
Germany established a huge 10-1 gap in the blocking charts and also bested their opponents 7-2 in the aces department. Jae-Duck Seo had 10 points for Korea.
Brazil 3, Cuba 1
Brazil led Pool B as they beat battling Cuba 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-17) at the end of the first round match. Brazil stayed unbeaten in pool matches and improved their record to 5-0. Aggressive serves, advance in blocks and good passes followed by high attack efficiency was Brazil’s key to win Sunday’s match with Cuba.
Key facts
• It was the ninth victory in a row for Brazil in world championships
• Brazil’s total victories elevated to 98, one more than Soviet Union (excluding Russia)
• Cuba have lost exactly 200 sets in the history of the world championships
Sidnei Dos Santos and Lukas Saatkamp shared the honours as Brazilian leading scorers for the match with 10 points apiece and 3 and 2 aces, respectively. Luis Felipe Marques chipped in with nine in the victory. Cuba’s Isbel Mesa and Javier Jimenez had 16 and 14 points in the loss.
Pool C in Gdansk
Mexico 3, Egypt 2
Mexico edged Egypt 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25,15-10) in a match between winless teams already eliminated from contention. Both teams gave an outstanding effort of professionalism in the meaningless contest.
Key facts
• First meeting between the two teams at the world championship
• Egypt now have lost their last nine matches in a row
• It was the second successive loss for Egypt in five sets
Daniel Vargas and Samuel Cordova both had six blocks while leading the winners with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Egypt’s Ahmed Abdelhay had a match-high 24 points in the loss.
Canada 3, China 2
John Gordon Perrin sparked Canada to a 3-0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-17) victory over China in a match between teams already qualified to the second round of the competitio
Key facts
• Canada matched their four wins total of 1974
• China have suffered three consecutive losses
• Canada have won the last 3 matches with China at major tournaments
Gordon Perrin recorded 18 points, including two blocks and two aces, as the main contributor to the fourth victory of the Canadians against one loss in Pool C. Dallas Soonias and Nicholas Hoag added 15 and 10 points in the victory. Jianjun Cui and Zhi Yuan notched 17 and 16 for China.
Russia 3, Bulgaria 2
After an amazing display of volleyball strength undefeated Russia overcame Bulgaria after an exciting tie-break (20-25, 23-25. 25-20, 25- 23, 15-11). It was defiantly the most exciting meeting in Gdansk in front of 11,000 spectators at Ergo Arena.
Key facts
• Russia team scored a tournament-high 17 aces during the match
• Russia have won 53 of 63 matches with Bulgaria in major tournaments
• Bulgaria have won only two of their 14 world championship matches with Russia
Towering Dmitriy Muserskiy led four Russian players with double figures in the scores with 23 points, including six aces. Dmitriy Ilinykh, Sergey Savin and Nikolay Pavlov added 15, 13 and 12, respectively. Bulgaria’s Tsvetan Sokolov and Todor Skrimov finished with 23 and 21, respectively, in the loss.
Pool D in Krakow
France 3, Belgium 2
France secured top place in Pool D following a tough seesaw battle of five sets against a resilient Belgium in urgent need of a win to keep alive their second round chances. The final score line read 3-2 (25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) in favour of Les Bleus.
• France lead 6-2 the overall head-to-head record over Belgium
• The French side have now even win-loss numbers of 66-66 at world championships
• Belgium have lost eight or their last 10 world championship matches
Bram Van Den Dries sparked the Belgian hopes with a match-high 23 points, but it was not enough. Kevin Tillie’s 18 points paced France while Antonin Rouzier and Earvin Ngapeth contributed 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Iran 3, Puerto Rico 0
Another outstanding blocking display from tournament-leader Seyed Mousavi sealed Iran’s smooth victory over Puerto Rico in straight sets (25-17, 25-22, 25-14) finishing the hopes of the Caribbean team of advancing to the second round.
Key facts
• It was the first ever contest between the two sides in a major event
• The previous straight-set victory for Iran was in 1970 over Venezuela
• In 1970 Iran finished the tournament with four victories
The victory earned Iran the second place in the group with a 4-1 mark (11 points) just behind France (4-1, 12 points).
Mousavi matched his tournament-high 8 blocks to finish with 12 points, while Shahram Mahmoudi ranked above all the scorers in the match with 13 tallies. Puerto Rican bomber Maurice Torres concluded with 10 points.
United States 3, Italy 1
United States outplayed Italy 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17) in a match between teams already qualified in Pool D at Krakow Arena on Sunday. The Americans seized Pool D third place, while Italy finished right behind them.
Key facts
• USA snapped a four-match losing streak against Italy in world championships
• USA continued their W-L succession that now is nine matches long
• Italy suffered their third loss at the 2004 event after losing only two in 2010
Maxwell Holt was the most prolific scorer with 19 points, also with high attacking numbers and 5 stuff blocks. Wing spikers Taylor Sander and Paul Lotman supported him with 13 tallies apiece. Jiri Kovar led the way for Italy, also with 13 points for the defeated side.
Best performances
Top scorer by day
24- Taylor Sander of United States v Belgium on 31-8-14
31- Zhi Yuan of China v Egypt on 1-9-14
27- Antonin Rouzier of France v Italy on 2-9-14
30- Zhi Yuan of China v Mexico on 3-9-14
20- Nikola Kovacevic of Serbia v Australia on 4-9-14
20- Jiri Kovar of Italy v Belgium on 4-9-14
20- Daniel Vargas of Mexico v Russia on 5-9-14
27- Maurice Torres of Puerto Rico v Italy on 6-9-14
25- Thomas Edgar of Australia v Venezuela on 7-9-14
Top scoring performances
31- Zhi Yuan of China v Egypt on 1-9-14
30- Zhi Yuan of China v Mexico on 3-9-14
27- Antonin Rouzier of France v Italy on 2-9-14
27- Maurice Torres of Puerto Rico v Italy on 6-9-14
26- Kervin Piñerúa of Venezuela v Cameroon on 2-9-14
26- Matt Anderson of United States v Iran on 2-9-14
25- Taylor Sander of United States v Iran on 2-9-14
25- Jean Patrice Ndaki of Cameroon v Venezuela on 2-9-14
25- Ivan Zaytsev of Italy v France on 2-9-14
25- Todor Aleksiev of Bulgaria v Egypt on 6-9-14
25- Thomas Edgar of Australia v Venezuela on 7-9-14
Top blocking performances
8- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Italy on 31-8-14
8- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Puerto Rico on 7-9-14
7- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v France on 4-9-14
7- Felix Chapman of Cuba v Korea on 5-9-14
6- Maxwell Holt of United States v Iran on 2-9-14
6- Felix Chapman of Cuba v Tunisia on 6-9-14
6- Daniel Vargas of Mexico v Egypt on 7-9-14
6- Samuel Córdova of Mexico v Egypt on 7-9-14
Top serving performances
6- Zhi Yuan of China v Mexico on 3-9-14
6- Ricardo Lucarelli Santos of Brazil v Finland on 5-9-14
6- Kervin Piñerua of Venezuela v Australia on 7-9-14
6- Dimitriy Muserskiy of Russia v Bulgaria on 7-9-14
5- Dimitriy Muserskiy of Russia v Canada on 1-9-14
Top team blocking performances
18- Bulgaria v Egypt on 6-9-14
16- Korea v Tunisia on 1-9-14
16- Italy v Belgium on 4-9-14
16- Iran v Belgium on 6-9-14
16- Iran v Puerto Rico on 7-9-14
Top team serving performances
17- Russia v Bulgaria on 7-9-14
11- Venezuela v Cameroon on 2-9-14
9- Bulgaria v Canada on 3-9-14
9- Brazil v Finland on 5-9-14
9- Bulgaria v Russia on 7-9-14
8- Canada v Egypt on 5-9-14
8- France v Belgium on 7-9-14
Highest scoring sets
33-31 China v Egypt (4th Set) on 1-9-14
33-31 Cameroon v Venezuela (3rd Set) on 2-9-14
29-27 France v Iran (4th Set) on 4-9-14
29-27 Serbia v Cameroon (3rd Set) on 7-9-14
28-26 Belgium v Italy (1st Set) on 4-9-14
28-26 Italy v Belgium (4th Set) on 4-9-14
Highest scoring matches
216- Finland d Cuba 3-2 (18-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-12) on 1-9-14
216- Bulgaria d Egypt 3-2 (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 20-25, 15-11) on 6-9-14
214- Australia d Venezuela 3-2 (25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-9) on 7-9-14
212- Russia d Bulgaria 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-11) on 7-9-14
211- Iran d United States 3-2 (25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 18-25, 17-15) on 2-9-14
203- Italy d France 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-13, 15-12) on 2-9-14
207- Cuba d Tunisia 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13) on 6-9-14
204- France d Belgium 3-2 (25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) on 7-9-14
203- Mexico d Egypt 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 15-10) on 7-9-14
202- Canada d Bulgaria 3-2 (17-25, 25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 15-8) on 3-9-14
200- Brazil d Korea 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13) on 6-9-14