Volleyball News: Defending champions Russia remain unbeaten in the first round of FIVB World Championship
The wonderful Women’s National Volleyball Team of Russia finished the first preliminary round of the 16th FIVB Women’s World Championship with an absolute score of 5-0. The defending champions staged a prolific show in all their matches and didn’t
let anybody hinder their performance. Russian squad is in top form and they have signalled their intent to hold the title trophy again. They outplayed Dominican Republic, Turkey, Canada, South Korea and China in the pool play matches.
In the fifth match on Wednesday, 3rd November, 2010 Russia was challenged by China. The Russian ‘army’ appeared in Osaka City Municipal Gymnasium, equipped with all necessary tools and tricks to subdue Chinese team. China fought well but failed
to stand the heavy strike of the Russian team. The battle continued for three sets and finally Russia edged China with a score of 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, and 25-19).
The brilliant Tatiana Kosheleva of Russia gained the reputation of top-scorer by adding 20 points. Likewise, Ektaterina Gamova contributed 14 points with the help of deadly spikes and powerful serves. Wang Yimei was top-scorer on China’s side as she registered
12 points.
Match overview
Russian team had the competitive edge of height and better physique on China’s team. They opened the match by throwing strong serves and added early points in Russia’s score. Ekaterina Gamova was fond of serving the ball at rocket-speed. The speedy serves
created trouble for the Chinese defence expert and helped Russia to build a strong impression in the game. Moreover, Kosheleva put her magic of titanic spiking and took Russia’s score by storm. Yunwen Ma of China showed great courage to block the powerful
hits and saved considerable points.
In the meantime, China attacked with Wang Yimei who helped the team chase the score but Russia was two points ahead of China at the second technical timeout (16-14). The head-to-head battle continued and both sides exchanged swift spikes. Russia made a difference
and achieved the set point. Ultimately, China lost the set by trailing three points behind Russia’s score (25-22).
Russia continued with commanding serves from Maria Perepelkina and didn’t allow China to take lead in the second set. Juemin Yu’s team changed the strategy of attack but Russia proved to be a detractor for them. They returned Chinese shots in the half and
refused to acknowledge their power. Russia was again dominant in the set. They delivery of fast under-hand shots and quick passes enabled them to cover the length of second set with a strong lead. China was pushed in the deep hole, while Russia smashed another
set victory at 25-17.
After dropping the opening two sets, China was dragged under huge pressure. Russia had already qualified for the second round of the championship and they played with boosted morale. The superb attack strategy and good defence of Russia made their position
very strong. Chinese side struggled to break the rhythm of Russian players and used different approaches. Suhong Zhou and Li Juan formed a good combination and frequently attacked Russian defence line but they couldn’t bring a major change. Russian worked-out
a couple of aces and stretched the gap of points. They hit the scoreboard with 25-19 and claimed the final set of the game. Russia won the final match of second round against China and maintained their winning streak. The losing-side, China has also advanced
to the second round but with a low score of 2-3.
Russia will open the second round of the FIVB Women’s World Championship by taking on Peru tomorrow (6th November, 2010). It probably doesn’t bother Russian squad as they have the ability to easily overpower Peruvian ladies. Afterwards, Russia
will be playing against Poland and Japan, which will surely create a lot buzz in the game. Nonetheless, Russian team is determined to keep up the same energy and momentum, in order to win the championship.
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