Press release

Fukuoka, Japan, November 27, 2011 – The FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup Japan 2011 begins the third round on November 27 at Fukuoka (Site A) and Hamamatsu (Site B) as over half the field have their sights still set on 2012 Olympic Games qualification.

At Fukuoka, tournament Cinderella Iran (4-1, 9 points) faces United States (2-3, 6 points) at 11.00 in a key battle for both teams to stay in contention for a medal berth and Olympic qualification. Later at Fukuoka, tournament front-runner Poland (4-1, 13 points) challenges China (0-5, 1 point) at 15.00 and Japan (0-5, 2 points) hosts Egypt (1-4, 3 points) at 18.20. At Site B in Hamamatsu, Russia (4-1, 12 points) take on Serbia (1-4, 3 points) at 11.00 followed by Brazil (4-1, 12 points) versus Argentina (3-2, 9 points) in an all-South American battle at 15.00 and Italy (4-1, 11 points) taking on Cuba (3-2, 9 points) at 18.20.

Five of the 12 FIVB Men’s World Cup teams are 4-1 in the tournament without an undefeated team. Behind Poland at the top of the FIVB World Cup standings are Russia and Brazil in second and third place with 12 points. Italy are within striking distance with 11 points for fourth place, just ahead of fifth-place Iran’s nine points. Cuba and Argentina follow in sixth and seventh place with nine points, while USA are ranked eighth with six points. Serbia and Egypt hold three points in the tournament, followed by Japan with two points and China with a single point.

All told, the 12 teams will play 11 matches each over a 15-day schedule with the top three teams earning a berth into the 2012 Olympic Games.

Second Round Pool A at Fukuoka

Iran versus USA
Iran, ranked No. 14 in the world, are 4-1 in the FIVB World Cup with three of the victories in five sets and the other in four sets for a total of nine points. USA finished the second round with a 2-3 record and six points, having lost to the top three teams in the world – No. 1 Brazil (3-1), No. 2 Russia (3-0) and No. 3 Italy (3-1).

““My players are full of enthusiasm after the results we claimed in Nagoya and Osaka,” Iran coach Julio Velasco said. “But in the next days we have to testify that we dispose of that physical and mental endurance that is necessary for such a long tournament. Iran has never beaten the United States and Egypt, so this will be a good chance to possibly score our first win over such good sides.”

“We are still very much committed and we have been scouting our next opponents as well as ourselves to get ready for the next rounds of play,” USA coach Alan Knipe said. “We want to improve our play throughout this tournament. Actually we have already seen some surprises in the previous rounds, these may be considered real upsets on paper, but if you analyze carefully the videos of such games, you still realize that such surprising wins did not come just by chance.”

Mehdi Bazargarde leads Iran with 61 points, while Alireza Nadi has scored 55 points for the Cinderella story of the tournament. USA are led by Clayton Stanley’s 77 points, while William Priddy has added 60 points.

USA and Iran have only faced each other once before, which went in favor of the North Americans 3-0 during the 2006 FIVB World Championship first round at Nagano, Japan.

Poland versus China
A day after falling out of the lead with a loss to Iran, Poland moved back atop the FIVB World Cup standings with a 4-1 record and 13 points – one more point than Brazil and Russia through five matches. China, which had not won a single set through the first four matches, stretched top-ranked Brazil to five sets on Friday before falling to gain their first point of the World Cup.

“We still have to believe in our strength, especially as we have 6 tough matches ahead of us,” Poland coach Andrea Anastasi said. “We are going to play some of the best teams in the world here in Fukuoka and next week in Tokyo, so it is still a long way to go.”

“Japan has got a very special style of playing volleyball, but we hope to stop our negative trend and take home some points from this round,” China coach Zhou Jianan said.

Poland’s Zbigniew Bartman has fired off 72 points to lead his squad, while Bartosz Kurek has chipped in 62 points. China are led by Ping Chen’s 58 points over the first five matches.

Poland hold a 14-2 advantage in the all-time series with China, including a 3-1 victory in the last meeting during the 2008 FIVB World League preliminary round. China’s last win in the series was the opening match of the 2008 FIVB World League and pushed Poland to five sets in the next meeting held in China.

Japan versus Egypt
Host Japan has yet to reach the win column in the 2011 FIVB Men’s World Cup, but they have made each of their five matches interesting. In their first four matches, Japan stretched Argentina and Serbia to five sets before losing, along with going four sets with Iran. In Friday’s final match at Osaka, Japan won the opening set over tournament leader Poland 25-23 before falling in the next three sets. Egypt enter the third round with a 1-4 record and three points, but gained some momentum by taking the third set away from Russia to end the second round in Kumamoto.

“The motivation is still high and all players are looking forward to playing at their best,” Japan coach Tatsuya Ueta said. “We have been reviewing and analyzing our previous matches and we realized that we narrowly missed the opportunity to take home one or even more games.”

“The world’s best teams are competing here, so it is always a very difficult task for us, but we have already seen some surprises since the start of the tournament and we hope to be the next ones to cause a major sensation,” Egypt coach Serif El-Shemerly said.

Japan’s offense has been centered around Kunihiro Shimizu, who has scored 78 points in the tournament. Egyptian Ahmed Abdelhay has been the primary offensive weapon for his squad with 73 total points and a 56.90 attack percent.

Japan lead the all-time series with Egypt 12-2, including a thrilling five-set victory in the last meeting held at the 2010 FIVB World Championship first round held in Milan. During that match, Egypt won the first two sets 34-32 and 25-23 before Japan rallied to win 25-19, 25-17, 15-13 in the final three sets. Egypt has lost the last four matches, but won two of four contests over Japan during the 2008 FIVB World League preliminary round.

Second Round Pool B at Hamamatsu

Serbia versus Russia
Russia rebounded from a loss to top-ranked Brazil with a 3-1 win over Egypt to improve to 4-1 in the World Cup with 12 points. The second-ranked team enters the third round with other wins against No. 3 Italy (3-1), No. 4 USA (3-0) and China (3-0). Serbia have fallen to 1-4 in the tournament with three points after a four-set loss to Cuba on Friday to end the second round. Serbia’s lone win was a five-set victory over host Japan on Thursday.

“Every game in the World Cup is important,” Russia coach Vladimir Alekno said. “We can’t lose one game. We need to prepare for every match and tomorrow we fight Serbia. We need to prepare well to win.”

“Russia is our big rival,” Serbia coach Igor Kolakovic said. “When you play Russia, you need to play with patience and a big heart.”

Maxim Mikhaylov has sparked Russia with 86 points, including 10 aces, to go with a 50.36 spike percent. Sergey Tetyukhin has contributed 45 points for the reigning FIVB World League champion. Ivan Miljkovic has been a Serbian bright spot with 86 points.

Russia and Serbia have had a long playing history dating back to time under their respective Soviet Union and Yugoslavia flags. Russia have won 31 of the 44 meetings, but the series has been closer over the last few years. Since 2007, Serbia have won four of the 12 meetings including the last two meetings in the 2011 European Championship (3-2) and the 2010 FIVB Men’s World Championship third round (3-1).

Argentina versus Brazil
Brazil hold a 4-1 record upon conclusion of the second round, including victories over No. 2 Russia (3-0), No. 4 USA (3-1), Egypt (3-0) and China (3-2). Argentina enter the third round with a 3-2 record and nine points, which includes a win over Cuba (3-1), Serbia (3-0) and Japan (3-2).

Brazil’s Murilo Endres has led his team in scoring through the first five matches with 66 points, while Leandro Vissotto Neves has added 53 points. Facundo Conte, son of Volleyball Hall of Famer Hugo Conte, leads Argentina with 88 points, including 13 blocks and six aces. Teammates Federico Pereyra and Sebastian Sole have 57 and 56 points, respectively.

“It’s still a long tournament, with six matches left to go,” Brazil coach Bernardo Rezende said after his team was forced to five sets against China and gained only two of three points.

“As you know they are one of the best teams in the world,” Argentina coach Javier Weber said. “It will be our toughest game, but we expect to give 100 percent and focus on good services tomorrow.”

Brazil have dominated their South American rival 30-3 in the all-time series. Argentina will look to break a 13-match losing streak to Brazil as their last win was during the 2000 Olympic Games quarterfinal round.

“(Argentina) are getting better and better each time we face them,” Rezende said. “They are young and very talented. They have the best setter in world, a good system, a good attack, great defensive players — they are a team that plays well all-around. We have to be consistent and serve well, keeping the ball out of the setters’ hands. Good fundamentals are mandatory for tomorrow.”

Cuba versus Italy
Italy improved to 4-1 on Friday with their fourth straight win, a thrilling four-set win over USA that included a FIVB Men’s World Cup record 41-39 score in the opening set. After dropping a four-set match to Russia on the tournament opener, Italy have now defeated No. 1 Brazil, No. 4 USA, Egypt and China. Cuba won their third match of the tournament with a four-set win over Serbia on Friday after a disappointing loss to Argentina on Thursday.

Italy’s Michal Lasko is the tournament’s leading scorer with 96 points, including three of the top five point performance in this year’s edition. Cuba are led by Fernando Hernandez Ramos’ 95 points for second place in Best Scorer, while Wilfredo Leon has added 71 points.

“We now move to the next city waiting, and have three very high level matches waiting in Cuba, Serbia, and Argentina,” Italy coach Mauro Berruto said. “These nine available points will [be very important].”

“We play Italy, one of best in world,” Cuba coach Orlando Samuells Blackwood said. “They beat Brazil, and I respect their victory a lot. We will do whatever we can to win (Sunday’s) games.”

Italy have produced a 31-15 advantage in the all-time series with Cuba. The Caribbean country won the last meeting with a 3-0 win during the 2011 FIVB World League preliminary round breaking a three-match losing streak. Cuba have won three of four previous FIVB Men’s World Cup meetings with Italy.

Day 6 | November 27, 2011

FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup Highlights
Tournament Leading Scorers
1 Michal Lasko (ITA) 96 points
2 Fernando Hernandez Ramos (CUB) 95 points
3 Facundo Conte (ARG) 88
4 Ivan Miljkovic (SRB) 86
4 Maxim Mikhaylov (JPN) 86 points

Top Scoring Performances
27 – Michal Lasko (ITA) v BRA, Nov. 22
26 – Michal Lasko (ITA) v RUS, Nov. 20
26 – Bartosz Kurek (POL) v IRI, Nov. 24
25 – Michal Lasko (ITA) v USA, Nov. 25
24 – Bartosz Kurek (POL) v JPN, Nov. 25

Top Scorers by Day
November 20: 26 – Michal Lasko (Italy) versus Russia
November 21: 21 – Zbigniew Bartman (Poland) versus Serbia; Tatsuya Fukuzaka (Japan) versus Argentina
November 22: 27 – Michal Lasko (Italy) versus Brazil
November 24: 26 – Bartosz Kurek (Poland) versus Iran
November 25: 25 – Michal Lasko (Italy) versus USA

Top Blocking Performances
7 – Alexander Volkov (RUS) v ITA on Nov. 20
7 – Michal Lasko (ITA) v BRA on Nov. 22
7 – Marcin Mozdzonek (POL) v JPN on Nov. 25
6 – Piotr Nowakowski (POL) v SRB on Nov. 21
6 – Alexander Butko (RUS) v USA on Nov. 22
6 – Sebastian Sole (ARG) v CUB on Nov. 24
6 – Yusuke Ishijima (JPN) v SRB on Nov. 24 

Top Service Ace Performances
6 – Bartosz Kurek (POL) v IRI on Nov. 24
4 – Maxim Mikyahlov (RUS) v CHN on Nov. 21
4 – Ivan Zaytsev (ITA) v BRA on Nov. 22
4 – Clayton Stanley (USA) v EGY on Nov. 24
4 – Sergey Tetyuhkin (RUS) v BRA on Nov. 24
4 – Mohammad Mousavi Eraghi Seyed (IRI) v ARG on Nov. 25
4 – Luciano De Cecco (ARG) v IRI on Nov. 25

Highest Set Score:
41-39 – ITA v USA (Set 1) on Nov. 25 (FIVB Men’s World Cup record)
30-28 – POL v SRB (Set 4) on Nov. 21

Highest Scoring Matches
220 – Italy beat USA 3-1 (41-39, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21) on Nov. 25
217 – Italy beat Brazil 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 18-25, 25-21, 22-20) on Nov. 22
211 – Iran beat Poland 3-2 (23-25, 28-26, 8-25, 26-24, 15-11) on Nov. 24
204 – Iran beat Argentina 3-2 (15-12, 25-21, 24-26, 25-16, 15-12) on Nov. 25
203 – Iran beat Serbia 3-2 (25-17, 18-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11) on Nov. 22
196 – Argentina beat Japan 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 11-25, 25-15, 15-12) on Nov. 21
193 – Brazil beat China 3-2 (23-25, 25-10, 25-18, 19-25, 15-8) on Nov. 25

For more information contact:
Site A (Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, Tokyo-Yoyogi Gymnasium) - Mr. Federico Ferraro
 +81 (0)80 2584 4622

Site B: (Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Toyama, Hamamatsu, Tokyo Metropolitan Stadium) - Mr. Bill Kauffman
 +81 (0)80 2584 4623

For all non urgent inquiries concerning the 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup please contact the FIVB Press Department at press@fivb.org.