Brazil gives Russia first loss in FIVB World Cup – Volleyball News
In the first meeting with rivals Russia, the defending champion Brazil hit the mark and clinched success. The South Americans posted 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-22) and broke the Russian's three-match winning streak. Japanese city of Kumamoto provided the backdrop
for this contest, which was witnessed by a large number of volleyball fans.
Murilo Endres led Brazilian score with team-high 12 points. He was supported by the skipper Gilberto Godoy Filho (Giba) with 10 points. Moreover, Leandro Vissotto Neves played his part and added nine points to push Brazil to a straight-set victory. On the
other side, Sergey Tetyukhin of Russia contributed match-high 14 points on 10 successful attack-attempts and four service aces. Maxim Mikhaylov followed him up and added 10 points, in the failing effort.
Brazil had done home work to take on the top team of the competition. They entered the court with a firm ambition to beat Russia. Brazilians jumped to a good start and picked up 3-point lead at the first technical timeout. Russia responded with convincing
shots by Tetyukhin managed to tie the score at 11-all. However, Brazil retook the lead with 3-0 run and earned the advantage. Russians played fast and also made some attack errors, which further benefitted Brazil. Ultimately, Brazil scored sets points and
closed off first frame with 25-16 win.
Mikhaylov and Alexander Butko of Russia formed a new strategy in second set and tried to cover the deficit of the previous set. In response, Brazil also strengthened the defence and tried to keep the Russian behind the attack line. The tie of score at 9-all
gave way to great tension in the set. Thanks to Sidnei dos Santos Jr of Brazil who put Brazil back in lead at 14-11. Russian players tried to fight the challenge but lost another set by trailing behind with 6 points, 19-25.
Third set was a fine display of volleyball from both sides but victory grace Brazil as they posted 25-22 and declared match victory.
Brazilian coach, Bernardo Rezende, expressed delight about his team’s victory against powerful Russian team. In his post-match comments, he stated: “We tried to play focused and with few mistakes. We have to qualify for the London Olympics, that’s our main
goal. If we can do more than that, it is better of course, but this is a very important three points against a great team.
Vladimir Alekno, the Russian head congratulated Brazil for winning the match. Although, he regretted the loss of the first match but happily accepted the fact that sport is sport and defeat is also a part of the game. Too many mistakes caused the damage
for Russia, he said. He urged his players to get ready for the next match against Egypt on Friday.
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