Cuba losses to U.S. by 2-3 in a 2011 FIVB Men’s World Cup match - Volleyball
The Cubans national men’s volleyball team had a match with the Americans on the December 3rd on the second say of the fourth round of the 2011 FIVB Men’s World Cup. The US won in an intense match by 3-2.
The tournament is currently being staged in Japan, the fourth round taking place in Tokyo. Japan also had the honour of successfully staging the 2011 FIVB Women’s World Cup a short time ago. The venue of the competition between Cuba and U.S. was the Tokyo
Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The two teams locked horns with each other in a competitive manner with neither giving up dominance easily throughout the match. The challenge that each team put up for each other took the match to five long and gruelling sets at the end of which the Americans
were able to end up on the winning side at the following final set scores: 25-20, 14-25, 25-18, 22-25 and 15-11.
The first set of the match started off with both the teams playing even. There were a couple of lead exchanges but neither team was able to gain any significant advantage until the later stages of the set when the Americans got hold of the lead. Once they
had the lead, the U.S. pushed themselves forward to earn the opening set win.
The loss of the first set did not sit well with the Cubans as a result of which they were able to come out strong in the second set of the game. Not only did the Cubans equalise the match by securing a win, they were able to completely smother the Americans
in the second set of the game.
With the match level in this manner, the third set saw both the teams playing neck to neck against each other. However, in the final stages of the frame, the Cubans seemed to have lost their steam as they began trailing behind a U.S. lead that eventually
translated into an American win. The Cubans started off the fourth set of the game on their terms and were able to take the lead early on. Once they had the advantage, Cuba did not let go of the advantage despite the fact that the Americans did not give up
the chase.
However, the fourth set of the game went the way of the Cubans and the match reached its fifth set. The fifth set was as competitive as expected but the Americans were able to seal the deal on it.
The coach of the American team, Alan Knipe, shared his views at the press conference in the following manner: “Well, as expected, it was a tough, close match as they all seem to be with Cuba. There was inconsistency at times, for us as well, but I’m still
pleased. It’s late in this tournament, and we’ve had back-to-back five-game matches. Our guys did a good job sticking to the game plan, and in the sets where we were successful I thought we did good job.”
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