HAMAMATSU, Japan, 22 November 2003 — World champions Brazil whipped winless Tunisia yesterday to remain unbeaten with five straight victories in the World Cup men’s volleyball tournament.
The South Americans, who edged past three-time former world champions Italy in a tough four sets Thursday, rested their first-choice players but still dominated the match cruising to a 25-17, 25-16, 25-11 win.
“We were quite tired after the match against Italy, but the whole team concentrated very well,” said Gilberto Godoy Filho, who scored 12 points for Brazil, nine of them off his devastating attacks.
Asian champions South Korea, who stunned European silver medalists France on Thursday, posted their third win against two defeats with a 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 26-24 win over Venezuela.
“The Venezuelan players are very young, but they have great athletic ability. I was a bit worried after losing the third set, but we regained our concentration and were able to win the match,” said Korean coach Cha Joo-Hyun.
In Hiroshima, western Japan, the United States breezed past winless Egypt 25-22, 25-19, 22-25, 25-14 for a fourth win against one defeat, with their captain Lloy Ball playing only as a substitute in the second set.
“I knew that Egypt is a competitive team, since we lost one set at the world championships last year,” said American coach Douglas Beal.
Egyptian captain Hamdy Elsafy Awad appeared satisfied despite the defeat, saying: “For us, it is a success to win a set off any team. It would be even better if we could have won one more set.”
Canada were stretched the distance before finally beating China 25-23, 24-26, 34-36, 25-22, 15-13 in two hours eight minutes.
