USA Cup Volleyball Tournament : U.S., Down 2-0, Rallies to Defeat Soviet Union

The Soviet Union and the United States, old friends and even older rivals in men’s volleyball, played one to talk about for years Sunday night, with the Americans rebounding from a 2-0 deficit to win a thriller, 11-15, 14-16, 15-9, 15-10, 15-4, in the title match of the Stubbies USA Cup at the Forum.

Before a vocal crowd of 4,881, the United States, the top-ranked team in the world, extended its winning streak against the Soviet Union, the second-ranked team in the world, to six games.

The Americans, defending Olympic champions, have now won all five USA Cups.

“It was a little bit of a heart check and a bit of a check of how competitive this team is,” U.S. Coach Marv Dunphy said after the match, which lasted approximately 3 1/2 hours and didn’t end until 11:30 p.m. “I think this may be the most competitive team of all time.”

Unlike Friday night, when the United States needed only three games to dismantle a Soviet team so loaded down with bulk that the Americans termed them the Goon Squad, Coach Gennadi Parchin went with a much more mobile lineup in the rematch. The results were immediate, as the Russians rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the first game to tie it at 11-11 and go on to win.

In an exciting second game, the United States moved out, 9-4, only to lose that lead, too. The score was tied for the first time since the early going at 10-10, and a see-saw battle ensued before Yuri Sapega blocked Craig Buck at the net for the win, 16-14.

Andrei Kuznetsov, one of the smaller Soviet players at 6 feet 3 inches, also had success up front. Team captain Aleksander Sorokolet, almost non-existent Friday night, was another key as an upset apparently began to build.

It was only the fourth time in 32 previous matches this year that the United States had fallen behind, 0-2, in games. Three ended in losses.

The Americans, however, rebounded.

By the end of the fourth game, Steve Timmons had 40 kills, and teammates Bob Ctvrtlik and Karch Kiraly, the tournament’s most valuable player, each had 30. Ctvrtlik had 26 in Saturday night’s four-game win over France.

In the third-place match, France scored a 7-15, 15-12, 15-3, 15-11 victory over Japan. Herve Mazzon had 31 kills, and Laurent Tillie added 30 for the winners, while Japan’s Hiromichi Kageyama had 34.

The French finished 2-2, losing to the United States and the Soviet Union, while the Japanese were 0-4 and won only one game in the entire tournament.