Russia beats Poland to win World Cup
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China.org.cn, December 5, 2011
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Dmitriy Muserskiy (R) of Russia spikes the ball against Piotr Nowakowski (C) and Michal Winiarski (L) of Poland during the fourth round match of the FIVB Men's Volleyball World Cup 2011 in Tokyo, Japan, 04 December 2011. |
Russia were crowned winners of the 2011 FIVB World Cup at the end of 15 days of incredible actions with matches having taken place across 8 different venues. This is Russia's sixth title in the competition, the last dating back to 1999.
Russia captured the 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup title after beating Poland in five sets (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 17-15) on the final day of fourth-round action at Yoyogi National Gym on Sunday.
Russia, which improved to 10-1, and Poland (8-3) had already wrapped up berths for the London Olympics by finishing first and second. By virtue of the scoring rules in place for the tournament, Russia only needed to win two sets to capture the championship.
Denis Biriukov led Russia with 13 points while Dmitriy Muserskiy added 12 and was named player of the match.
Russia coach Vladimir Alekno commented after the match: "My congratulations to Poland for their qualification for the Olympics. They got what they came here for. I am the happiest person on Earth today because it is my 45th birthday. I have to thank my team for the efforts in this tournament".
Brazil (8-3) clinched the final berth for London with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-22 win over host Japan. Brazil had to avoid conceding two sets to finish third ahead of Italy, which also ended with an 8-3 record.
