Press release
Russia and USA secure final-four spots
Russia's team have won five consecutive matches with only one set lost
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 6, 2011 – Russia and United States have booked tickets in the medals final-four round of the 2011 FIVB Men’s Junior World Championship following their victories on Saturday which secured one of the top two positions in their respective pools.
Russia defeated Iran in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-22) while United States earned the pass by winning a grueling five-set battle with Spain by score of 25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 28-30, 15-11. The two teams meet on Sunday with the winner taking the first place in Pool E.
Meanwhile, Argentina moved closer to the medal round following a victory over Brazil 3-1 (14-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17), but Brazilians, Serbia and India still have options to reach the top-two places in Pool F depending on the results of Sunday.
In the eliminatory round for the 9-16 positions taking place in Niteroi, Canada and Belgium are leading pools G and H respectively with 2-0 win-loss records after Saturday’s results.
The Canadians prevailed 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11) against Egypt, while Belgium also needed five sets to defeat Germany 23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 15-10.
Pool E –Second Round- Positions 1-8
Russia 3, Iran 0
Russia remained undefeated as the seven-time world champions scored its fifth consecutive victory by downing Iran 3-0 (25-21, 25-19 and 25-22) in a second round match of Pool E. With six points in the group, Russia is very close of qualifying to the semifinals, while the Iranian depends on a tough combination of results to keep their chances.
Russian opposite Andrey Kolesnik topped the scorers with 20 points, followed by Leonid Shchadilov with 14. Captain and setter Dmitry Kovalev scored impressive 12 points -four attacks, five blocks and three serves. Iran's Amir Ghafour scored 17 and Pourya Fayazi finished with 13 points.
United States 3, Spain 2
The United States qualified to the semifinals as the American team collected its second straight win in Pool E. The Norceca champions edged Spain 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 28-30, 15-11) reaching five points in the group’s standings. The American win also qualified Russia, which has six points. The two teams clash on Sunday to etermine first and second places in the pool.
American outside hitter Taylor Sander topped the scorers with 27 points and teammate Maurice Torres scored 22. In the Spanish side, Andres Villena (22), Francisco Ruiz (17), Pablo Bugallo (17) and Borja Ruiz (12) all passed the 10-point mark.
Pool F –Second Round- Positions 1-8
Serbia 3, India 1
Fifth world-ranked Serbia recovered from a bad start in Pool F of the second round to record its first win of the stage. The European squad defeated India 3-1 (25-13, 19-25, 25-22 and 27-25). With the 3-0 win, Serbia earns its first three points in the second round, while the Indians are still without points.
Serbia's captain Aleksandar Atanasijevic hammered 29 points to lead the winning cause while Uros Kovacevic finished with 20. India's opposite Selvaprabhu Dhanabalan had a match-high 30 points and middle blocker G.R. Vaishnav achieved 16, including 9 blocks.
Argentina 3, Brazil 1
Top world-ranked Argentina reached the top of Pool F after defeating defending champions Brazil 3-1 (14-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17). With its second straight win, Argentina has now six points and sits alone in the first place, ahead of Brazil and Serbia, with three points each, and pointless India. As all the four teams still keep chances of advancing, the last day will be decisive with Argentina playing Serbia and hosts Brazil facing India.
Argentinean opposite Ivan Castellani finished with 20 points topping the scorers while teammates Nicolas Mendez and Agustin Ramonda added 12 and 10 respectively. Brazilian outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli charted 19 points and Luan Weber added 12 points in the losing effort.
Pool G –Second Round- Positions 9-16
Canada 3, Egypt 2
After a long five-set match, Canada defeated Egypt, 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11), and leads Pool G. Even though Canada helped their opponents with 47 team errors, the North Americans were successful in the second match of the new round of contests and improved their record to 2-0 in the pool. Egypt fell to 0-2.
Bradley Kufske had 22 points for Canada and Nicholas Hoag added 20 points. Tommy Belisle and Lucas Van Berkel each had five blocks for Canada while registering 18 and 15 points respectively. Hossam Sallam led Egypt with 17 points and Omar Hassan added 10 points.
Japan 3, Tunisia 0
After a bad debut on Friday, Japan won their second Pool G match, against Tunisia, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-18) on Saturday. Canada leads Pool G at 2-0. Japan and Tunisia each have records of 1-1.
Japan led Tunisia in spikes (38-32), in blocks (10-4) and in service aces (5-3). Japan’s Takashi Dekita was the best scorer in game with 17 points on 16 attacks and one ace. Taike Tsuruda added 10 points. On the Tunisian side, Racen Siala was the best, scoring 13 on attacks and one block. Mohamed Arbi Ben Abadallah added 12 points all on spikes.
Pool H –Second Round- Positions 9-16
Belgium 3, Germany 2
Belgium defeated Germany by 3–2 (23-25, 25-20,28-26, 20-25, 15-10) and took the lead in Pool H with a 2-0 record. Germany is in second at 1-1. The two European teams know each other and played a very balanced match.
Sam Deroo and Anshel Ver Eecke registered 25 and 22 points respectively to lead the scoring charts of the winners while Francois Lecat (15) and Martijn Colson (10) also concluded with double digits. Paul Sprung topped Germany with 19 points and Tom Strohbach and Bjoern Hoehne each scored 17.
Bulgaria 3, Puerto Rico 0
Bulgaria beat Puerto Rico, 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-18) to win its first match of the tournament. After losing to Belgium on Friday, They improved to 1-1 and will need to defeat Japan on Sunday if it hopes to play for ninth place.
Bulgaria led the way in attacks (32-23), blocks (10-5) and aces (9-1). Bulgaria's Ventsislav Trifonov led all scorers with 13 points including three blocks and two service aces. Zlatan Yordanov added 12 points. Puerto Rico got seven points each from Jose Ribas, Ricardo Archilla and Steven Morales.
Highest Scorer by Day
Day 1 (August 1): 31 points by Simon Hirsch (Germany) in the 3-1 loss to India
Day 2 (August 2): 47 points by Takashi Dekita (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Bulgaria
Day 3 (August 3) 27 points by Steven Morales (Puerto Rico) in the 3-2 victory over Tunisia
Day 4 (August 5) 21 points by Racem Siala (Tunisia) in the 3-1 victory over Egypt
Day 5 (August 6) 30 points by Selvaprabhu Dhanabaln (India) in the 3-1 loss to Serbia
Top Scoring Performances
47 – Takashi Dekita (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Bulgaria on August 2
38 – Aleksandar Atanasijevic (Serbia) in the 3-2 victory over Iran on August 2
31 – Simon Hirsch (Germany) in the 3-1 loss to India on August 1
30 – Selvaprabhu Dhanabaln (India) in the 3-1 loss to Serbia on August 6
29 – Aleksandar Atanasijevic (Serbia) in the 3-1 victory over India on August 6
Top Blocking Performances
11- Mohamed El Askolany (Egypt) in the 3-1 victory over Germany on August 2
9 – G.R. Vaishnav (India) in the 3-1 loss to Serbia on August 6
8 – Lucas Van Berkel (Canada) in the 3-2 loss to Serbia on August 3
7 – Ventsislav Ragin (Bulgaria) in the 3-2 loss to Japan on August 2
7 – Igor Filippov (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over Spain on August 5
7 – Igor Filippov (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over Iran on August 6
Top Service Ace Performances
4 – Andrey Kolesnik (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over India on August 2
4 – Uros Kovacevic (Serbia) in the 3-2 victory over Iran on August 2
4 – Paul Sprung (Germany) in the 3-1 victory over Puerto Rico on August 5
3 – Andrey Kolesnik (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over Egypt on August 1
3 – Jorge Lopez (Puerto Rico) in the 3-1 loss to Argentina on August 1
3 – Hatem Obba (Tunisia) in the 3-1 loss to Spain on August 1
3 – Yamato Fushimi (Japan) in the 3-2 victory over Brazil on August 1
3 – Steve Morales (Puerto Rico) in the 3-2 victory over Tunisia on August 3
3 – Hatem Obba (Tunisia) in the 3-2 loss to Puerto Rico on August 3
3 – Dmitry Kovalev (Russia) in the 3-0 victory over Iran on August 6
3 - Aleksandar Atanasijevic (Serbia) in the victory over India on August 6
3– Nicholas Hoag (Canada) in the victory over Egypt on August 6
3 –Ivan Castellani (Argentina) in the victory over Brazil on August 6
Highest Set Score
34-32 (Puerto Rico versus Germany) in second round on August 5 in Niteroi
33-31 (Japan versus Bulgaria) in first round on August 2 in Rio de Janeiro
30-28 (Serbia versus Iran) in first round on August 2 in Niteroi
30-28 (Spain versus United States) in second round August 6 in Rio de Janeiro
28-26 (Belgium versus Germany) in second round August 6 in Niteroi
27-25 (Serbia versus India) in second round August 6 in Rio de Janeiro
Highest Scoring Matches
225 - United States def. Spain 25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 28-30, 15-11 in second round on August 6 in Rio de Janeiro
224 –Serbia def. Iran 23-25, 22-25, 30-28, 25-18, 15-13 in first round on August 2 in Niteroi
223 – Japan def. Bulgaria 20-25, 20-25, 33-31, 25-18, 15-11 in first round on August 2 in Rio de Janeiro
218 – Belgium def. Germany 23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 21-25, 15-10 in second round on August 6 in Niteroi
216 - Japan def. Brazil 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 18-16 in first round on August 1 in Rio de Janeiro
211 – Brazil def. Bulgaria 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8 in first round on August 3 in Rio de Janeiro
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