Argentina were one of eight teams who booked tickets to the second round during Super Saturday in four Polish cities
Wroclaw and Katowice, Poland, September 6, 2014 – Five spots remain open for the second round of the 2014 FIVB Men’s World Championship with one day to go in the preliminary phase of the 24-team competition.
Eleven sides have booked their spots for the next phase of the competition which includes 16 teams –four from each original pool- when the event continues in the cities of Wroclaw, Katowice, Lodz and Bydgoszcz starting on September 10.
Hosts Poland, Argentina and Serbia from Pool A have secured their berths in the second segment of the tournament with the fourth team to be decided from the match between Australia and Venezuela on Sunday.
Three-time defending champions Brazil and Germany are qualified in Pool B with Cuba, Finland and Korea still with chances for two remaining spots.
Olympic champions Russia, Bulgaria, Canada and China advanced from Pool C as also did France and Iran from Pool D, with the other two vacancies to be disputed by United States, Italy, Belgium and Puerto Rico.
Pool A in Wroclaw
Argentina 3, Australia 0
Argentina dominated Australia in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) to book their spot in the second round of the competition. The victory earned Argentina a 3-1 win-loss record while Australia dropped to 1-3. The Aussies play a crucial match with Venezuela on Sunday.
Key facts
• Argentina outserved Australia 8-1
• First back-to-back victories for Argentina since 1990
• Australia have lost their last three matches in a row at 2014 World Championship
Facundo Conte had 19 points as the best scorer for the winners, followed by Pablo Crer and Martin Ramos with 11 and 10, respectively, in the victory. Edgar Thomas was the only Australian player who scored in double digits with 13 points.
Serbia 3, Venezuela 0
Serbia scored a comfortable straight-set (25-20, 25-17, 25-22) win over Venezuela to join Poland and Argentina as teams from the pool qualified to the Round of 16. Venezuela and Australia will clash on Sunday for the last ticket available.
Key facts
• Third consecutive victory for Serbia after losing the opener to Poland
• It was the first match at the world championship between these two teams
• Second straight set victory for Serbia in their last 16 matches at world championships
Uros Kovacevic and Aleksandar Atanasijevic were the main scorers for the winning side with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Venezuela’s Kervin Piñerúa finished with 14 and Jesus Chourio had 10 in the loss.
Poland 3, Cameroon 1
Following a fiery battle for the first two sets, Poland managed to win 3-1 against Cameroon (25-27, 25-23, 25-16, 25-22) in the last match of Pool A at Centennial Hall on Saturday. Poland kept their unbeaten record at 4-0 with 12 points while Cameroon are still looking for a victory after four outings.
Key facts
• Poland dropped a set for the first time in the competition
• It was the first match ever between the two teams at the world championships
• Cameroon have lost their last six matches at the world championships
Dawid Konarsky was Poland’s top scorer with 18 points followed by Michal Kubiak with 16 while Andrzej Wrona and Marcin Mozdzonek chipped in with 12 and 11, respectively. Cameroon’s Jean Patrice Ndaki and Nathan Wounembaina finished with 20 and 18 in the loss.
Pool B in Katowice
Cuba 3, Tunisia 2
Rolando Cepeda and Javier Jimenez recorded 24 and 23 points, respectively, in leading Cuba to a thrilling 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13) victory over Tunisia to stay in contention for a pass to the second round of the event.
Key facts
• Cuba have won all nine matches against Tunisia at a world level
• It was the third straight-set victory of Cuba over Tunisia at the world championships
• Tunisia suffered their 50th loss against 12 wins at the world championships
Maroen Garci and Mohamed Ali Ben Othmen topped Tunisia with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Cuba evened up their win-loss record at 2-2 and next play Brazil. The winless Tunisia (0-4) are now out of chances to advance.
Brazil 3, Korea 2
After grueling five-sets battle Brazil hardly overcame Korea 3-2 (21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13) in Pool B of the 2014 FIVB Men's World Championship at Spodek hall, Katowice to stay unbeaten in four matches. After the victory, Brazil improved their won-loss ratio to 4-0. Korea while gaining one point, stayed at fifth with 1-3 ratio (4 points).
Key facts
• Brazil had won the three previous matches in straight sets
• It was the sixth consecutive victory for Brazil at world championships
• Korea have now lost five of their last six matches in world championships
Leandro Visotto paced Brazil with 22 points as three other South Americans scored in double figures: Sidnei Dis Santos (16), Luis Felipe Marques (13) and Eder Carbonera (11). Korea’s Kwang-In Jeon had a match-high 24 points in the losing effort
Germany 3, Finland 1
Germany booked a berth in the second round of the world championship following a gritting victory in four sets against Finland (25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 25-19). The Germans sit in second place of the group with a 3-1 record while Finland stands now at 2-2.
Key facts
• The German side scored 7 aces en route to the triumph
• Germany captured their third victory in a row
• Finland lost two matches in a row for the first time since 1982
Denys Kaliberda led three German players with double figures in the scores with 17 points. He was joined by Marcus Bohme and Gyorgy Grozer with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Olli-Pekka Ojansivu had a match-high 18 points for Finland and Olli Kunnari added 16 in the loss.
Pool C in Gdansk
Bulgaria 3, Egypt 2
Todor Aleksiev blasted 25 points and Danail Milushed added 20 of his own catapulting Bulgaria to the second stage after a tough 3-2 (25-22, 26-24, 23-25, 20-25, 15-11) victory over Egypt. The winners improved their win-loss balance to 3-1 while the Egyptians remained winless after four matches.
Key facts
• Bulgaria recorded a tournament-high 18 blocks as a team
• Aleksiev and Svetoslav Gotsev each scored 5 blocks for Bulgaria
• It was the eighth consecutive loss for Egypt at world championships
Ahmed Abdelhay led Egypt with 20 points, followed by Mohamed Thakil and Saleh Youssef with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Canada 3, Mexico 0
Canada outserved Mexico 12-2 en route to a cruising victory in straight sets (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) to earn a ticket to the second round of the championship. The Cannucks improved to a 3-1 mark while Mexico are still looking for their first win after four losses.
Key facts
• Canada’s extended their winning streak to three matches
• It was the first match between Mexico and Canada at the world championship
• Mexico have won two sets in their last six matches
Toontje Van Lankvelt, Dallas Soonias and Graham Vigrass spearheaded the attack of the winning side with 16, 12 and 11 points, respectively. Carlos Guerra had 12 points as the lone Mexican player with double digits in the scores.
Russia 3, China 0
Dmitriy Muserskiy and Dmitriy Ilinykh charted 15 points apiece to lead the lopsided victory over China in straight sets (25-22, 25-11, 25-21). Nikolay Pavlov contributed 13 points in the win.
Key facts
• It was the fifth victory of Russia over China at the world championships
• Russia have lost only one set in their first four matches
• China have lost two matches in a row after starting with two wins
Russia maintained their victorious record at 4-0 while China fell to 2-2. The Russian team dominated the Chinese side with big advantages of 9-4 in both the block and serve categories and 40-27 in spikes.
Pool D in Krakow
France 3, United States 1
More than 14,000 spectators packed Krakow Arena to watch the come-from-behind victory of France over United States 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21) to earn a ticket to the second round of the tournament. The winners elevated their record to 3-1 while the Americans evened theirs to 2-2. In Sunday’s action France go against Belgium while United States challenge Italy.
Key facts
• France are the only team to earn points in each of four matches in Pool D
• The French side lost the opening set of a match for the first time in Krakow
• United States still leads 17-10 the overall record between the two sides
Anthony Rouzier once again paced the French attack with 23 tallies with support from Earvin Ngapeth who contributed 15. USA’s Matt Anderson smashed 21 points while Taylor Sander chipped in with 14.
Iran 3, Belgium 1
Iran once again relied on the strength of their blocks and managed to defeat Belgium 3-1 (25-23, 25-15, 21-25, 25-20) securing a ticket for the second phase. The Iranians (3-1) totaled 16 blocks to 8 by the opposition.
Key facts
• Iran grabbed a third victory for the first time since 1970 when won four
• Seyed Mousavi leads the blocking category of the tournament with 22
• Belgium have won two of their last nine matches at the world championship
Farhad Ghaemi and Mojtaba Mirzajanpour each collected 13 points for the winners, while Seyed Mousavi added five blocks among his 12 tallies. Sam Deroo led all the players in the match with 15 points in the losing effort.
Puerto Rico 3, Italy 1
In the biggest upset so far at the FIVB Men’s World Championship Pool D Puerto Rico brought down Italy 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22) for their first win in Poland. Italy dropped their record to 2-2 while Puerto Rico are at 1-3.
Key facts
• Even with this historical result, Italy is 2-1 ahead in their head-to-head numbers over Puerto Rico.
• Both teams met in 2010 World Championship in Italy, where the home team prevailed 3-1 in Catania.
• Puerto Rico prevented another loss that would have placed them closer to their worst losing streak, a 10-defeat series in 1974.
Maurice Torres and Jackson Rivera performed superbly for Puerto Rico, topping all the scorers with 27 and 20 points respectively. For Italy, Ivan Zaytsev led the way with 15 tallies, in a defeat that might have some effect over the Azzurri’s qualification.
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
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
Top blocking performances
8- Seyed Mousavi of Iran v Italy on 31-8-14
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
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
5- Dimitriy Muserskiy of Russia v Canada on 1-9-14
4- Jose Carrasco of Venezuela v Cameroon on 2-9-14
4- Gyorgy Grozer of Germany v Cuba on 3-9-14
4- Todor Skrimov of Bulgaria v Canada on 3-9-14
4- Mikko Esko of Finland v Korea on 3-9-14
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
15- Iran v Italy on 31-8-14
15- Finland v Cuba on 1-9-14
15- United States v Iran on 2-9-14
15- Cuba v Korea on 5-9-14
15- Egypt v Bulgaria on 6-9-14
15- Poland v Cameroon on 6-9-14
Top team serving performances
11- Venezuela v Cameroon on 2-9-14
9- Bulgaria v Canada on 3-9-14
9- Brazil v Finland on 5-9-14
8- Canada v Egypt on 5-9-14
7- Cuba v Finland on 1-9-14
7- China v Bulgaria on 5-9-14
7- Germany v Finland on 6-9-14
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
28-26 Belgium v Italy (1st Set) on 4-9-14
28-26 Italy v Belgium (4th Set) on 4-9-14
27-25 Finland d Cuba (3rd Set) on 1-9-14
27-25 Russia v Finland (1st Set) on 5-9-14
27-25 Cameroon v Poland (1st Set) on 6-9-14
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
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
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