It Takes Five Games, But Russia Beats Cuba

In a thrilling match between the two best women’s teams in the world, Russia beat two-time defending gold medalist Cuba, 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-12, 15-13, Monday at Sydney.

Russia, ranked No. 1 in the world, has won four of the nine gold medals awarded in the sport since it was added to the Olympics in 1964. Cuba has won the last two.

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Cuba def. Spain, 25-21, 25-12, 21-25, 25-20--The Cuban blocking duo of 6-foot-9 Ihosvany Hernandez and 6-8 Pavel Pimienta was too much for Spain, as the Cubans bounced back from an opening loss with a victory today.

Hernandez had 16 kills and Angel Denis, the best leaper on a Cuban team full of athletic players, had 14.

Argentina def. South Korea, 25-23, 17-25, 30-28, 25-21--Marcos Milinkovic had 24 kills and Alejandro Spajic added seven blocks for Argentina in the second round of men’s qualifying.

The Argentines, who upset the United States in the first round, dropped the second set but rallied to take the final two.

South Korea, all but out of the medal chase at 0-2, was led by Shin Jin-sik’s 17 kills.

Brazil def. Egypt, 30-28, 25-18, 25-21--Dante Amaral had 13 kills for the Brazilians.