Team China gave the home crowd a thrill with a surprise win over Iraq on day four of the Sitting Volleyball preliminaries.
Helped by enthusiastic fans, China beat Iraq 25-9, 25-17, 25-12 in the last Pool A match. China's 25-9 victory in the first set of this match was also their first of the tournament, providing momentum for the rest of the match. The Chinese team played cohesively with minimal mistakes to formulate a swift attack and solid defense. China neutralized Iraq's leading scorer Hadi Juboori's stellar 11 point performance with 11 blocks. Led by Wang Haidong's five aces, China took advantage of Iraq's lackluster receiving with eight total aces compared to just one by Iraq.
Ukraine v Japan (Women) 3-0
Ukraine outmatched Japan to secure third position in Pool A. Ukraine were clearly the dominant team in skills and speed in a convincing 25-16, 25-14, 25-18 win. They built a wall of defense with strong blocking and kill blocks, capitalizing on their height advantage that was no match for Japan. Ukraine's top point-scorer Ilona Yudina (13 points) teamed up with Alla Lysenko and were an unbeatable combination at the net.
Russia v Bosnia and Herzegovina (Men) 3-1
Tournament favorites Bosnia and Herzegovina overpowered Russia in four sets (25-21, 25-22, 18-25, 25-16) and finished in first position of Pool A. Both teams had not conceded a set in previous preliminary matches (against China and Iraq) and were hungry to remain undefeated. An exciting match with lots of action at the net and hard-fought contests between the blockers of both teams. Russia lacked crucial communication when the pressure was on but were repeatedly rescued by their key striker Milenin.
United States v Latvia (Women) 3-0
The United States strolled to victory against Latvia (25-12, 25-17, 25-11) in their last preliminary match. The young United States team led easily through the whole match and made it very difficult for Latvia to get points on the scoreboard. Latvia, newcomers to Paralympic Sitting Volleyball, gave their best but were unable to stage an effective attack against the more skillful US team. The United States dominated with strong serves, scoring 14 points from aces (versus Latvia's four) and 27 team points from spikes.
Egypt v Japan (Men) 3-0
Egypt outplayed Japan in the last Pool B preliminary match. Egypt gave limited opportunity for Japan to score with an easy 25-8, 25-11, 25-15 win. With impressive set formations, the Egyptians showed superior speed and skill to secure their passage to the semifinals. Japan had difficulty returning the strong serves from Egypt and at one point during the third set El Saad Mossa scored three points in a row from his impressive serves into the unprepared Japanese defense. Having come up against some tough competition in Pool B against Iran, Brazil and Egypt, newcomer Japan have improved their play during the tournament.
Slovakia v Netherlands (Women) 3-2
World No. 1 Netherlands faced their toughest rivals Slovenia and won in five sets (23-25, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 15-11) in an intense battle for first and second positions in Pool A. In a nail-biting first set both teams went point-for-point in a game of tactics, strategy and set plays. Slovenia started with a strong service in the second set with Gosnak scoring the first three consecutive points. In a crowd-pleasing match, both teams appeared even in skill and agility with the Netherlands just managing to land some well-place points to close the match.
(BOCOG September 11, 2008)