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Canada and USA debut with victories
RUSE, Bulgaria, September 12, 2018 – Canada enjoyed splendid
debut at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship by
defeating Netherlands in straight sets 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-18)
in Pool B match on Wednesday.
Nicholas Hoag and Sharone Vernon-Evans were the best scorers for
Canada with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Nimir
Abdel-Aziz had a match-high 13 points for the losers.
It is the first win for Canada against the Netherlands at the
World Championship, after the North Americans lost the previous
two meetings in 1978 and 1990.
Meanwhile, in Bari, Italy, the United States prevailed in a
roller-coaster battle with Serbia in Pool C by scores of 3-2
(15-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 15-10).
The USA team won the battles at the net in blocks (15-12) and
from the service line in aces (8-5).
Aaron Russell led the American squad with 19 points, including
three blocks and one ace, while Matt Anderson added two blocks
and two aces among his 18 tallies. Taylor Sander finished with
16, with four aces and two blocks, and Maxwell Holt chipped in
with 10 points, including four blocks. Serbia’s Uros Kovacevic
topped the losers with 19 points followed by Aleksander
Atanasijevic and Marco Ivovic with 14 and 11, respectively.
In Pool D in Varna, Iran defeated Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-19, 25-14,
25-18) behind Seyed Mousavi (11), Amir Ghafour (10) and Ali
Shafiel (10). For Puerto Rico, Maurice Torres finished with 10
points.
Also in Varna, reigning champions Poland held off a reaction of
Cuba to win 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 25-14) with Artur Szalpuk
leading the attack with 18 points. Bartosz Kurek added 16,
including five blocks and Michel Kubiak chipped in 13. For Cuba,
Javier Concepción and Marlon Yang finished with 12 and 11,
respectively, while Miguel Gutierrez and Roamy Alonso each had
10 tallies.
In Florence, Italy, Slovenia recovered from losing the first set
and went on to beat the Dominican Republic 3-1 (22-25, 25-13,
25-13, 25-17) in Pool A.
Tine Urnaut and Mitja Gasparini led five players in double
figures for Slovenia with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Klemen
Cebulj added 12 while Alen Pajenk and Jan Komazernik contributed
10 points each. Henry Lopez and Elvis Contreras registered 12
and 10 points for the Dominican side. |