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• 11 / 14 / 2007

Cuba beat host Japan in four sets on Wednesday during the ninth day of competitions of the Women's World Cup of Volleyball in the city of Nagoya and thus kept alive their aspirations to obtain one of the three tickets that the event grants for next year's Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

As expected, it was a very tight match from beginning to end with the Cubans betting on their powerful attack and the Japanese trying to prevail with their defense.

After falling in the first set 22-25, the Caribbean squad came from behind to take hard-fought wins in the second and third sets 31-29 and 25-23 before they routed their rivals in the fourth and last set 25-20.

Cuban captain Yumilka Ruiz led the island's attack with 21 points while Nacy Carrillo added 18. Kenia Carcaces and Rachel Sanchez also contributed 16 units to the Cuban cause.

In other results on Wednesday, Italy swept Brazil 3-0, Serbia downed the United States 3-1, Poland beat South Korea in straight sets, and Thailand edged Kenya 3-2.

After these results, Italy leads the event undefeated in nine outings. The United States is second with an 8-1 win-loss record while Brazil, Cuba and Serbia share the third, fourth and fifth spots with seven wins and two losses apiece.

On Thursday, Cuba has a tough and decisive match against Italy before they conclude the tournament playing against Serbia on Friday.

Source: Cuba News