The Sidelines : Italy Beats Japan in Volleyball
World champion Italy beat Japan 15-8, 15-9, 15-7 and the Soviet Union defeated Cuba 16-14, 15-10, 15-4 today in the semifinals of the $350,000 World Top Four men’s volleyball tournament.
Playing before 7,000 spectators at the Yoyogi Stadium, Japan took an 8-6 lead in the first set, but Italy scored nine consecutive points, including four consecutive block points by Ardrea Gardini.
Italy, which captured the world title in Brazil last month, took the last two games easily to advance to Wednesday’s championship. Cuba finished second in the world championships, the Soviet Union was third and Japan 11th.
Yui Cherednik led the Soviet team in the match with nine spike points and two block points.
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