TOKYO, Nov 3 (AFP): The United States pulled off a stunning victory against four-time champions Cuba for their second straight win at the women's World Cup volleyball tournament Saturday.
The Americans, who lost to Cuba in the continental championship final in September, got their revenge on the three-time Olympic gold medallists with a 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 15-11 win in Hamamatsu, central Japan.
"I think it's the second time for us to play Cuba over five sets," the US coach, Lang Ping of China, said after the 103-minute match.
"When you have a tie-break (in the fifth set), it very much depends on the players and the tempo you have, and also a bit of luck. Both teams had a great match, but I think we played well at the important moments.
Cuba's captain Yumilka Ruiz said mistakes cost them the match.
"It was a very interesting match between two big teams. We started out at a high level and hit a lot of good serves, but we made too many errors," she said.
Other favourites, European champions Italy and world bronze medallists Serbia, safely took their second straight wins in Tokyo in the 12-team round-robin competition.
Italy stayed on form to beat Dominican Republic 25-17, 25-16, 25-17, while Serbia, the runners-up to Italy in Europe, faced quite a scare before beating Asian bronze medallists Thailand 25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 26-24.
US defeat Cuba in volleyball WC
FE Team | Published: November 04, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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