Croatia beats U.S. Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team at the ICC – Volleyball news
The Croatian Men’s Sitting Volleyball team defeated American opponent in its third match at the Intercontinental Cup in Cairo, Egypt on Monday.
The match spanned over three sets and ended up with the final score of 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22). The U.S. team was completely whitewashed by the rival side. It marked Croatia’s second consecutive victory in the tournament as they defeated Iraq in the previous
match.
On the other hand, American team received its first loss in the tournament. In the first two matches, they earned victory over teams from Iraq and Kazakhstan. Hence, both teams now stand with identical record of 2-1 at the end of third day at the Intercontinental
Cup.
The U.S. team had good opening strategy in the match. Eric Duda and J Dee Marinko started off as the outside hitters and demonstrated good energy. The Croatians, on the other hand, spent some time and analysed the rivals. They grasped the game plan of U.S.
team and counter attacked. The U.S. players lost momentum and dropped some easy shots. The Croatians took full advantage of the situation and finished the opening set of the match at 25-16.
The first-set win with big margin of 9 points boosted the morale of Croatian players and they continued with commanding shots in the second set. U.S. Head Coach Bill Hamiter tried different combinations and sent better substitute players but the situation
remained unchanged. The U.S. team dropped another set in row with similar score. Croatia put an end to the second set by sending 25-17 on board.
After losing two sets in row, the U.S. team hit back strongly in the third set. They played to their full potential and gave a good competition to Croatia. Stuck and Marinko put up a combined effort and tried to save the third frame.
However, their efforts went futile as Croatia sealed third set win by posting 25-22. Croatia captured all three sets of the match and announced straight set match victory.
Duda emerged as the leading scorer in the match with 13 points from 12 blocks and a kill. The top-scorer of the match, Eric Duda, disclosed his thoughts after the match and said, “Croatia outplayed us at the net and we had trouble executing even the easiest
of plays. We just couldn't pull it together.”
The Croatian team will return to action on Tuesday when they will take on Team Kazakhstan. Likewise, the U.S. team will cross its path with the hosts on the fourth day of the tournament. The ICC has great importance as it will promote the successful team
in the upcoming 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The tournament is supposed to announce the winner on March 9 with the final set of matches.
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