|
Taiwan, Serbia-Montenegro spring surprise at volleyball champs
2006-11-05
Taiwan continued to spark surprise at the women's world volleyball championships, notching up their fifth straight win to finish top in their group. Serbia and Montenegro also finished top of their group after powering past Turkey. Both winners moved into the second stage of the tournament along with South Korea, Azerbaijan, Puerto Rico, the Netherlands and Turkey. They joined Brazil, Russia, Japan, Poland, Germany, China, the United States, Italy and Cuba. The Taiwanese women coasted Sunday to a 25-10, 25-18, 25-12 victory against Costa Rica in the Pool A round robin after earlier shocking Japan, South Korea and European champions Poland. "We won five matches in a row. We thought it would be very difficult to achieve this. We've been taking part in the women's volleyball for a long time and this time we could do it," said Taiwan coach Lin Huang-hung. "We are going to keep this pace in the second round as well. We mainly played with seven players in this round, but I used several young players in this match. It was good for them to have an experience. Lin said the team was relishing the chance to take on powerhouses Italy or Cuba as well as Turkey all teams they have never played before. Captain Chen Shu-li said the latest victory had boosted their confidence. "It was not easy to beat Costa Rica. The win gives us a lot of confidence. Winning five games is not easy, but we've done it, because of our coach. I want to thank him," Chen said. Serbia and Montenegro easily sent Turkey packing 27-25, 25-22, 25-15 to finish atop Pool D ahead of defending champions Italy, three-time former champions Cuba and Turkey in Nagoya. Cuba struggled to beat Peru 22-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-16, 15-10, while Italy breezed past Egypt 25-17, 25-7, 25-10. Brazil, three time Grand Prix winners, brushed aside Cameroon 25-13, 25-14, 25-8 in Group C in Kobe. "One of our goals before coming here was to reach the second round with a 5-0 record and we managed to achieve that, so this is a positive thing," said Brazilian coach Jose Guimaraes. "We will treat the second stage like a new tournament and we must win at least three games. But it will be tough, because we will be up against good teams. I think our defense is good but need to work a little on our counter-attacks and offense," he added. Two-time Olympic silver medallists Russia topped Pool B beating Dominican Republic 25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19, followed by Germany who defeated Athens Olympic champions China 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-23 in Sapporo. South Korea outplayed African champions Kenya 25-13, 25-13, 25-12, while hosts Japan squeezed through to a 25-22, 30-28, 26-28, 25-18 win over Poland in Pool A. In other matches, Azerbaijan outclassed Mexico 25-14, 25-10, 25-16, the United States whipped Puerto Rico 25-14, 25-16, 25-15, and the Netherlands edged past Kazakhstan 25-18, 27-29, 25-18, 22-25, 15-13.
|
