Men's Semifinals/Match 40
ITA vs. YUG
Italy Play for First-ever Gold Medal
Italy advanced to the gold medal match for the first time with a 15-12, 8-15, 15-6, 15-7 victory over Yugoslovia in a men's semifinal match on Friday in the Omni Coliseum.
Italy, a two-time world champion, will face the Netherlands for the gold medal on Sunday at 14:30 in the Omni Coliseum. It marks the first time that Italy has advanced to the gold medal match. Yugoslovia, making its second-ever appearance in the Olympic Games, has already guaranteed itself of its highest finish ever no matter the outcome of its bronze medal match versus the Russian Federation on Sunday.
The two teams split the first two sets, but the Italians wore down Yugoslovia and dominated play in sets three and four.
In set three, Italy jumped out to a 5-0 lead only to see Yugoslovia cut the deficit to 6-4. Italy then outscored Yugoslovia 9-2 to capture the set 15-6. Italy controlled set four from the outset using a 7-1 run to open the set. Yugoslovia got as close as 9-5, but the Italians answered with a 5-0 run to take a 14-5 lead. After Yugoslovia scored 2 points, Samuela PAPI recorded a kill to end the match.
Final Score: ITA def. YUG 15-12, 8-15, 15-6, 15-7.
NED vs. RUS
The Netherlands Earns Second Straight Trip to Finals
With a convincing 3-0 sweep of the Russian Federation, the Netherlands has earned its second straight trip to the gold medal match. The 1992 silver medalists trailed only once in three sets in beating Russia 15-6, 15-6, 15-10.
The Netherlands jump started each set with big leads including a 7-3 start in the first set. The Russians managed to tie at six in the second set before giving up nine unanswered points. In the final set, the Netherlands built a 6-1 lead although the Russians applied pressure to draw to within three at 9-6, before losing 15-10.
The Dutch were led by Olof VAN DER MEULEN who had 22 kills and three aces. Russia's Dmitri FOMIN led with a match-high 23 kills.
Final Score: NED def. RUS 15-6, 15-6, 15-10.
"Normally, Italy is better and stronger than us. Hopefully we are preparing well for them. If we can catch them at 90 percent and we play 100 percent, we can win," said Ron ZWERVER (NED)
BUL vs. ARG
Bulgaria Beats Argentina for Seventh Place
Bulgaria blew a two sets to zero lead and held off two match points in the fifth set to defeat Argentina 15-10, 15-10, 7-15, 7-15, 20-18 and capture seventh place in the Olympic volleyball tournament on Friday at the Omni Coliseum.
Argentina held leads of 16-15 and 17-16 in the deciding set, but a service error on one point and a Bulgarian kill on the other cost them the game-winning points. With the loss, Argentina earned eighth place in the Olympic Games.
Bulgaria bolted out to wins in the first two sets behind a fast-paced offensive attack, but Argentina rallied to capture the third and fourth sets to force the deciding fifth set.
Bulgaria was led by Lubomir GANEV with 21 kills and 3 service aces. Marcos MILINKOVIC paced Argentina with 21 kills, 5 blocks and 5 service aces.
Final Score: BUL def. ARG 15-10, 15-10, 7-15, 7-15, 20-18.
"The team made a huge maturing step in this tournament. We were the youngest team in the tournament. We proved that we can play with the best teams in the world. We only need to play in a few more tournaments," said Daniel CASTELLANI, Argentina's head coach.
CUB vs. BRA
Although Brazil swept 3-0 to place fifth, it had to put down three different Cuban uprisings to do so. In the first set, Brazil blew out to a 14-4 lead, they couldn't get to set point until Cuba had reeled off eight straight points before falling 15-12. In the second set, the 1992 gold medal winner Brazilian team could not shake the Cubans with any kind of substantial lead before edging them 16-14. It was more of the same in the third set as the Brazilians powered to a 9-3 lead only to watch Cuba storm back and take the lead at 12-11 on a Alain ROCA (CUB) service ace. The teams traded points and it took Brazil six match point opportunities to finally quell Cuba 16-14. Brazil's fifth-place Olympic finish is its worst since 1980.
Final Score: BRA def. CUB 15-12, 16-14,16-14
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