Russia hangs on to beat USA in first match of final round: 2011 FIVB World League – Volleyball news
Russia posted a 3-1 (29-31, 25-16, 25-21, and 25-22) victory over Team USA in the opening match of FIVB World League Final Round on Wednesday, July 6. The match was staged at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland in the presence of 2,284 spectators.
World Number two, Russia, played extremely well and Maxim Mikhaylov was hailed for his terrific performance as he registered 29 points for his team.
Match overview
Americans started off well in the opening set of the game. They managed to put away cross-court shots and gain an advantage over Russia. However, Russia was equally active on the other side of the net and the U.S. led the score with only a 2-point margin
at the first technical timeout (8-6). The game picked up more pace afterwards as Russian Dimitry and Mikhaylov formed a good combo and struggled to catch up with opponents’ score. The hard work paid off and they managed to tie the score at 16-all. Clay Stanley
and Ryan Miller of the USA attempted frequent attacks and tied it again at 24-24. The neck to neck battle continued until the US finally manged to win the set by 31-29.
Coach Alan Knipe of the US might have thought that his boys had the game in the bag but he was to be disappointed as the Russians captured the following three sets in a row and declared match victory.
Post-match
The match was followed by the official press conference, where coaches and captains of both team gave an appearance and had their say. American skipper, William Reid Priddy, seemed quite unhappy with the numerous mistakes by his team and he believed that
was how Russia took the game away from them. Priddy stated: “We are here after a long journey after matches with Puerto Rico, but we will try to recover and improve our game as soon as possible.”
Russian captain, Taras Khtey, also talked to the press and said playing in the morning was a real test for his squad because they were not used to it. He said there were some flaws, which Russian Team will have to eliminate immediately. Meanwhile, he expressed
his delight at winning the crucial match against the USA. He was of the opinion that the American squad would create many problems for other teams in their next matches.
Vladimir Alekno, the mentor of the Russian team, said that he would try to figure out how the morning-play affected his players as they also made a lot of mistakes. Speaking of the intense moments during the match, he stated, “After the first set I shouted
at my team, but they know I do it just to encourage and motivate them.” All in all, the coach appreciated the combined effort of the players and congratulated them for making a stunning start in the Final Round.
Next Up
In the next match, Russia is fully prepared to take on Cuba on Thursday, July 7.
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