Riffa, Bahrain, August 26, 2017 – Russia cruised into the final after a straight-set win over Japan on Saturday, setting up a title clash in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship with Iran, who dominated Korea in straight sets at the Isa City Sports Hall.
Russia displayed great offence and defence against Japan to win 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 30-28) and took the first semifinals berth of the Boys’ U19 World Championship. The Russians played their usual power game and outshined Japan in attacks and blocks, but they outwitted their defence-driven rivals with better digs and reception statistics.
In the second semifinal match, Iran were on an undefeated run in the tournament as they defeated Korea 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18). Iran placed a wall against the Korean hitters and committed fewer errors than their rivals for a straightforward finish.
France battled another European rival in the classification for 5th to 8th, earning a favourable result with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21) win over the Czech Republic. In the next match, Egypt produced a whopping straight-set 3-0 (33-31, 25-15, 25-19) win over Brazil to play for fifth place on Sunday.
In the classification matches for 9th-12th place, China endured their tough encounter with Argentina 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 18-16). Another five-set encounter followed, when Italy faced European rivals Turkey in the final match in the classification. Italy and Turkey took alternate set wins, but the former had better momentum in the final set to record 3-2 (28-26, 16-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-8).
Puerto Rico defeated their NORCECA rivals USA 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 30-28, 25-23), while Bahrain astonished Cuba 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-16) in the classification matches for the 13th-16th places. Puerto Rico earned their second victory, while Bahrain claimed their fourth triumph in the tournament.
Poland finished in 17th place, and Mexico in 18th place, after the Europeans won 3-0 (25-16, 29-27, 25-23) and ended their campaign with two victories in seven matches. In the other match, Tunisia finally recorded a victory in the tournament by beating Chile 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-11). Tunisia and Chile finished 19th and 20th, respectively.
Top Scorer by Day
30 – Gabriel Garcia of Puerto Rico v Tunisia on August 18
28 – Porya Yali of Iran v Italy on August 19
34 – Youssef Hamdy Awad (Elsafy) of Egypt v Tunisia on August 20
35 – Donghyeok Im of Korea v Argentina on August 21
30 – Celestin Cardin of France v Poland on August 22
32 – Yousef Hamdy Awad of Egypt v Cuba on August 24
32 – Lazaro Brunet of Cuba v Egypt on August 24
26 – Diego Gonzalez of Mexico v Cuba on August 25
26 – Donghyeok Im of Korea v Egypt on August 25
34 – Adis Lagumdzia of Turkey v Italy on August 26
Top Scoring Performances
35 – Donghyeok Im of Korea v Argentina on August 21
34 – Adis Lagumdzia of Turkey v Italy on August 26
34 – Youssef Hamdy Awad (Elsafy) of Egypt v Tunisia on August 20
32 – Yousef Hamdy Awad of Egypt v Cuba on August 24
32 – Lazaro Brunet of Cuba v Egypt on August 24
30 – Celestin Cardin of France v Poland on August 22
30 – Gabriel Garcia of Puerto Rico v Tunisia on August 18
28 – Gabriel Garcia of Puerto Rico v United States on August 26
28 – Porya Yali of Iran v Italy on August 19
27 – Adis Lagumdzija of Turkey v Argentina on August 22
26 – Diego Gonzalez of Mexico v Cuba on August 25
26 – Donghyeok Im of Korea v Egypt on August 25
26 – Remigiusz Kapica of Poland v Chile on August 24
26 – Victor Aleksander Cardoso of Brazil v France on August 18
23 – Jaylen Jasper of United States v Egypt on August 22
23 – Remi Bassereau of France v Brazil on August 18
Top Individual Serving Performances
5 – Morteza Sharifi of Iran v China on August 21
4 – Stanislav Antonov of Russia v China on August 24
4 – Pavel Tetyukhin of Russia v China on August 24
4 – Amirhossein Esfandiar of Iran v Turkey on August 24
4 – Raiko Altunaga Serosa of Cuba v Poland on August 20
4 – Ondrej Piskacek of Czech Republic v Mexico on August 19
4 – Cong Tian of China v Mexico on August 18
3 – Ikje Choi Korea v Russia on August 22
3 – Ahmet Tumer of Turkey v Argentina on August 22
3 – Pierre Toledo of France v Poland on August 22
Top Team Serving Performances
14 – Russia v China on August 24
9 – China v United States on August 25
9 – Italy v Cuba on August 25
9 – Turkey v Argentina on August 22
9 – Russia v Chile on August 21
9 – United States v Tunisia on August 21
9 – Iran v China on August 21
8 – France v Brazil on August 18
8 – Italy v Czech Republic on August 18
7 – Cuba v Poland on August 20
7 – Czech Republic v Mexico on August 19
Top Individual Blocking Performances
10 – Artem Melnikov of Russia v Korea on August 22
9 – Alex Rusch of Chile v Mexico on August 25
9 – Luis Vidal Allen Serrano of Cuba v Poland on August 20
7 – Nicolas Zerba of Argentina v Korea on August 21
6 – Diego Cantagalli of Italy v Turkey on August 26
6 – Nicolas Zerba of Argentina v Czech Republic on August 24
6 – Luis Vidal Allen Serrano of Cuba v France on August 19
6 – Lorenzo Cortesia of Italy v Czech Republic on August 18
5 – Lorenzo Cortesia of Italy v Turkey on August 26
5 – Ahmet Tumer of Turkey v Italy on August 26
5 – Remi Bassereau of France v Czech Republic on August 26
5 – Pedro Molina of Puerto Rico v United States on August 26
5 – Randy Perez of Puerto Rico v United States on August 26
5 – Mohamed Jasim of Bahrain v Cuba on August 26
5 – Nicolas Zerba of Argentina v China on August 26
5 – Amir Hossein Toukteh of Ir Korea v on August 26
Top Team Blocking Performances
20 – Russia v France on August 25
19 – Bahrain v Puerto Rico on August 21
18 – Cuba v Poland on August 20
18 – Puerto Rico v Tunisia on August 18
17 – Italy v Turkey on August 26
17 – Turkey v Argentina on August 22
15 – Argentina v Czech Republic on August 24
15 – Italy v Iran on August 19
14 – Puerto Rico v United States on August 26
Highest Scoring Sets
40-38 – France v Poland on August 22
33-31 – Egypt v Brazil on August 26
32-30 – Tunisia v Egypt on August 20
32-30 – Puerto Rico v Tunisia on August 18
30-28 – Tunisia v United States on August 21
29-27 – Egypt v Puerto Rico on August 19
28-26 – Chile v Poland on August 24
29-27 – China v United States on August 25
Highest Scoring Matches
229 – Puerto Rico v Tunisia 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 30-32, 25-22,17-15) on August 18
228 – China v Argentina 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 25-22, 23-25, 18-16)
224 – Russia v France 3-2 (25-27, 26-24, 23-25, 25-19, 16-14) on August 25
223 – United States v Tunisia 3-2 (28-30, 22-25, 25-19, 26-24,15-9) on August 21
223 – Japan v France 3-2 (24-26, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13) on August 20
218 – France v Poland 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 40-38) on August 22
209 – Italy v Turkey 3-2 (28-26, 16-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-8) on August 26
208 – Iran v Italy 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) on August 19
205 – Mexico v Tunisia 3-2 (25-18, 25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 15-11) on August 24