Russia persevered through a five-set battle to overcome Brazil on Thursday at Levski Sofia volleyball hall in Bulgaria.
After the withdrawal of Cameroon, who forfeited their matches, the encounter between Russia and Brazil was the only Pool D game on FIVB Volleyball U21 Men’s World Championship opening day.
In a hard-fought battle between two powerful teams, Russia came back from a set down twice to emerge on top with a 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 15-9) victory. After a 7-7 tie in the tie-breaker, Russia went on a rampage, with opposite Roman Murashko behind the serving line, to gain a 12-7 lead and never look back.
Outside hitter Stanislav Dineykin hammered the winner to shape the match-high to 18 points and share the top of the scorers’ chart with Brazil’s Darlan Souza. Paulo Ferreira da Silva was Brazil’s most prolific player on 17.
Belgium surprised the defending Men’s U21 World Champions from Iran, as on the opening day of action in Pool C seized a 3-2 hard-fought victory.
Today’s results:
