 |
Germany Suffers Second Defeat at Universiade Men's Volleyball
Defending champions Germany suffered its second defeat in Beijing Saturday when they lost to Yugoslavia 3-2 in the second round of top 16 at the 21st World University Games.
Germany, stunned by Slovakia in four sets Thursday in a Group B preliminary, could not cope with Yugoslavia in a Group J tough match, losing at 25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 23-25 and 15-12.
Despite the defeat, Germany still keeps their hope alive for the quarter-final berth when Denmark breezed past Slovakia 25-18, 25-21, 25-27 and 25-22 in Group J. The above three teams now have the identical scores of one win against one loss.
A total of 27 teams competed in round-robin preliminaries in eight groups, and top two teams from each group advanced into the second round, in which the 16 teams are divided into four groups, with top two from each group advancing into the quarter-finals.
Hosts China, ranked 11th in the last games two years ago, played some of their best volleyball ever in the games, beating the Netherlands 25-22, 26-24 and 25-19 with an ease.
Though the Chinese could not match the Dutch in height and power, they used their effective blocking and well-teamed quick attacks to stop any attacks from the rivals.
With the win, China assured of their berth in the top eight together with Brazil, who met no problems by ousting Latvia 26-24, 25-23, 25-22 in another Group I match.
Chinese coach Yang Liqun said: "We have carried out our pre- tournament goal by sailing into top eight, and is to prepare well against arch-rivals Brazil on Sunday."
The best result that the Chinese men's volleyball had in Universiade was runners-up in 1987 games.
United States made an easy work of Turkey 25-14, 25-14, 25-22 while Japan saw off Ukraine 25-22, 20-25, 25-12, 25-11 in Group K.
In Group L, France blew apart Canada 20-25, 29-27, 25-18, 25-15 while South Korea staged a up-set by demolishing favorites Russia 17-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21, and 16-14 in a two-hour tussle.
In This Section
|