Serbia finished with a 4-1 win-loss record in Pool A at Centennial Hall in Wroclaw
Wroclaw, Poland, September 7, 2014 – 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.
During the warm up, Cameroon’s Mefani Olivier Nongni Zanguim was injured and as a result he was replaced by Joseph Herve Kofane Boyomo. As expected, Serbia were presenting better than their opponents as they got off the court with an 8-5 lead. Marko Ivovic and Sasa Starovic’s spikes and blocks by the likes of Uros Kovacic and Srecko Lisinac were causing lots of problems to the Cameroonians. The Serbian reserves were playing with concentration and calmness. Head coach Peter Nonnenbroich’s team managed to gain points with kills and blocks, mainly thanks to Kofane Boyomo, Jean Patrice Ndaki Mboulet and Nathan Wounembaina. They also used several Serbian errors recovered from 19-11 down, to lead 21-18. Still, the Europeans were showing volleyball on a higher level, so following a Kovacevic dink, they won the first set 25-21.
In the second set, Cameroon were keeping close to Serbia and they even took a 14-10 lead. That was a consequence of great devotion in reception showed by libero Kamto Alain Fossi and fantastic moves by Kofane Boyomo. As Serbia did not know how to finish their spikes, it helped world No. 22 ranked side to lead. Nonnebroich’s team were as relaxed as they were in the match against Poland where they were close to making a big surprise. Dragan Stankovic and Kovacevic tried to rescue Serbia as their kills and double block gave the team 20-18 lead. The last minutes of the set were quite nervous for both teams as scoreboard showed the result 24-all. Finally, the Cameroonians had more luck as they gained a 26-24 victory following Ivovic’s out of bounds spike.
Serbia took a lead in the third set as Cameroon slowed down. For the first technical time-out, they got off the court with an 8-5 lead. The break clearly woke up the African team as not only did they catch Serbia, but also took a 20-18 lead. Wounembaina and Ndaki Mboulet were oppressing head coach Igor Kolakovic’s team with perfect spikes. However the Serbians did not give up and strong kills by Starovic or Lisinac caused another tie. Both Cameroon and Serbia had set balls but the Serbians were the one who took advantage of it. Ivovic’s spike gave his team victory 29-27.
Serbia entered the fourth set with a great strength as they were shocking Cameroon with Stankovic’s service and Kovacevic’s kills. They led against the African team 8-3 before the technical time-out. Wounembaina tried to scare the Serbians however Kolakovic’s team were controlling the meeting. Effective block by Lisinac and Ivovic was the key to the success as Serbia extended their lead to six points. Following the second technical break, the Cameroonians were helpless against Serbia. The match was finished with the result 25-17 as Ivovic showed a perfect kill.