Russia claim World Volleyball gold with 3-1 win over Turkey

Jay Asser 09:00 01/09/2015
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  • The Russian team celebrate.

    Russia captured the men’s Under-23 World Volleyball Championship title to complete their dominant run through the tournament, defeating a worthy Turkey 3-1 in the final at Al Nasr Hall in Dubai on Monday night.

    The 26-24, 16-25, 25-18, 26-24 victory capped Russia’s unbeaten streak as they finished a perfect 7-0 en-route to being crowned champions.

    — Volleyball (@FIVBMensU23) September 1, 2015

    After edging Turkey 3-2 in the Pool B meeting earlier in the tournament, Russia once again had to earn the win the hard way.

    Russia’s driving force behind their gold-medal claim was MVP Egor Kliuka, who had a match-high 20 points, all coming via spike.

    Kliuka was part of a devastating front line for Russia, which boasted supreme height and held a 49-46 advantage in spikes and a 14-8 lead in blocks.

    “It was a difficult match. We did not play very well today, but we believed in a victory and that helped us win,” said Russia coach Nikolaev Mikhail. “We also had the MVP and he was massive to our victory.”

    Despite their size deficiency, Turkey were within striking distance for the majority of the match and came up on the short end of tiebreakers in the first and final set.

    Turkey appeared on their way to grabbing the early lead when they held a 23-20 advantage in the opening set, only to give back crucial points – including a service error on set point – for a missed opportunity.

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    The narrative flipped in the fourth set, Turkey fighting back from a 23-19 hole to even the score at 24-apiece on the strength of consecutive blocks. That was as good as it got, however, Russia regaining their footing to win in dramatic fashion.

    Turkey didn’t help their cause by committing 31 errors, compared to Russia’s 25, the runners-up particularly inconsistent on their service, surrendering points with careless mistakes.

    “That is part of a final match,” said Turkey coach Emanuele Zanini.

    “Some players want to do more or repeat what they want to do the day before, but it’s a different day and you’re facing a different team.

    “We’re also speaking about young players, they don’t have much experience. They’re not advanced at managing pressure.”

    Russia now sit atop the U-23 standings after seizing the crown from inaugural winners Brazil and increase their age group tally to 17 titles, with this the first of the year.

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