18-Nov, start time: 18:05, end time: 19:33 - Attendance: 2,750

ITA	3	25	21	25	25	-	96
KOR	1	18	25	18	21	-	82

Match Description:

Italy Power through Brave Korea
European champions Italy continued their winning form at Site B of the men's World Cup but were made to fight hard for a 3-1 victory over Korea in their final match in Nagano.
The Italians secured their third win from three games 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-21 to further establish themselves as one of the favorites to claim one of the three Olympic qualifying spots on offer.

The difference in power was noticeable at the start of the game. Korea's receivers struggled to cope with the serve of Andrea Sartoretti and their hitters constantly ran into the defensive wall of Luigi Mastrangelo as Italy comfortably took the opening set.

But Korea changed the tempo of the game in the second and produced a remarkable defensive display to draw level. Captain Choi Tae-Woong found his jumpers with quicker sets while libero and MIP Yeo Oh-Hyun was as effective as he was brave in repelling the Italian bombs, especially those from Sartoretti and Samuele Papi.

The introduction of Matej Cernic and the defense of middle blocker Luca Tencati turned the match Italy's way again in the third set, the highlight of which was a remarkable piece of football skill from Cernic which appeared to galvanize his side as they regained the lead.

Italy seemed intent on bludgeoning their opponents into submission in the fourth set and gradually their superior firepower began to tell. They opened a four-point lead at 19-15, which was enough to eventually see them home with a Sartoretti ace.

Comments:

Official Result:

Match statistics (P-2) - PDF