France beat Yugoslavia 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 15-11) - duration 2:10
02-Aug, start time: 20:15, end time: 22:25 - Attendance: 3,500 France tested by 5-set marathon against Yugoslavia
France and Yugoslavia both put on a solid performance to take their Pool D Match to five thrilling sets, despite difficult conditions with temperatures in the 30 degrees Celsius and very high humidity in the hall. Yugoslavia went strongly into the match, notching up an early set win to the euphoria of the home crowd in the Montenegro capital of Podgorica. Even without four of their key players home resting up for the finals in Brazil, France bounced back to level, and then take the lead in the following two sets. The Yugoslavs were unable to penetrate the French defense and struggled to find the right tactics but had to relinquish the lead to the visitors. In the third set the two sets tied at 17-all, but again good defense and strong serving by the French prevailed. Yugoslavia ran out in the fourth with several substitutes and regained spirit to finally penetrate the French wall and with some creative Volleyball also managed to counter strong serves by the powerful Daquin. The tiebreaker started well for the visitors and the Yugoslav team, even with the help of heavyweight players like Vujevic and Grbic were not able to take the initiative and the match. /mh
