Australia in tough World Cup volleyball win over Tunisia

HIROSHIMA—Asian champions Australia fought a tough battle against African silver medallists Tunisia before triumphing 3-1 at the men’s World Cup volleyball on Thursday.
Paul Carroll scored 21 points and Benjamin Hardy 18 to lead Australia to a 25-22, 35-37, 26-24, 25-22 victory in Hiroshima to take their win-loss record to 3-1 at this crucial tournament.
“It was a great match,” said Australia’s coach Russell Borgeaud. “Most matches against Tunisia are really that close. I was reminding the guys to keep patient when we have the lead, because Tunisia fight back every time,” he said. “I am proud of how they played,” he added.
Tunisia’s coach Antonio Giacobbe said he was satisfied despite the defeat. “It was an incredible match. We took 37 points in one set for the first time in this World Cup. We never had a set 37-35 before. It was incredible in the third set, because we were leading 24-19,” said Giacobbe. He said mistakes made by his younger charges proved costly. “We had five set points and lost all five because may be our young players at this moment made many mistakes. They lost their mind at critical moments.”
“(But) The match was very intense, a very good match,” he added. The top three teams in the 12-team round robin competition will qualify for the Beijing Olympics next year.
Earlier in the day, Athens Olympic bronze medallists Russia powered past South Korea 25-16, 25-14, 25-19 for their fourth straight win, while in Toyama world champions Brazil downed Puerto Rico 25-13, 25-21, 25-17.
Brazil coach Bernardo Resende was already looking forward to the match against world bronze medallists Bulgaria on Friday. “It’s always tough against Bulgaria. We’ll need to control their strength. I hope my players peak against the big teams. If we don’t qualify for the Olympics, we will be under heavy pressure at home,” said Resende. European champions Spain were 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 winners over African champions Egypt.—Agencies