European Champions Italy edged a tough game against the US yesterday to win the Women's World Cup Volleyball tournament for the first time.
Their 25-20, 25-18, 27-25 victory was their 11th straight win in the 12-team round-robin competition, where the top three finishers -- Italy, the US and Brazil -- have qualified for next year's Olympics.
The US ended the tournament with a 9-2 win-loss record and had to wait for the outcome of the Brazil-Japan match yesterday evening to learn what place they would take.
PHOTO: AFP
"We made history," Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco said. "It was not easy, but we were able to play tenaciously until the end. Although we've already earned a ticket for Beijing yesterday, we wanted to finish with a win."
Italy's coach Massimo Barbolini attributed the victory -- capping an undefeated tournament for the team -- to their hard work "with a little bit of fortune."
"For us, it was important to win the last match, because it's a great result to win 11 matches in a row. My players have [had] a wonderful season, they wanted to finish this way," he said.
US coach, Lang Ping, said her team did not have enough time to prepare together for the two-week tournament.
"They [Italy] have a great team. I think we played well, but at critical moments we made too many errors. We have so much homework to do. Hopefully, we can have more time to train together," Lang said. "In the Olympics, there will be more teams, stronger teams, including Italy. I really hope to have enough time to train. We have a lot to do to become a great team."
Earlier in the day, four-time champions Cuba beat world bronze medalists Serbia in a tight game 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22, and the Dominican Republic came from two sets behind to beat Peru in a nail biting match 23-25, 21-25, 25-17, 25-10, 15-13.
Former European champions Poland outclassed Asian bronze medalists Thailand 25-15, 25-17, 25-22.
Cuba ended the tournament 8-3, with Serbia at 7-4, Poland 6-5, the Dominican Republic 3-8, Thailand 2-9 and Peru 1-10.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS