Russia became the fourth national team to claim the ticket for the Volleyball Tournament of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics via FIVB International Qualifier. If many fans expected a great spectacle in the last round match of Pool E in Saint Petersburg between Russia and Iran, the home side has deleted the party. In fact the hosts swept the Asians in three sets, partially 25:19, 25:23 and 25:23, to claim the absolut leadership in the pool and a spot in Tokyo. The third set could have changed the course of the match but Iran were unable to preserve the lead of 20-17. Interestingly, the Finnish expert on Russiaβs bench decided to keep Mikhaylov as back-up through the entire match, giving a chance to Viktor Poletaev. Mikhaylov played only one match in the competion, against the lowest-ranked rivals Mexico, on Day 1.
The young opposite Poletaev was the top scorer with 19 points, while Iranian Amir Ghafour scored 17. Russia dominantly secured a spot in the Olympics with all three victories without losing a single set.
On the same Pool, Cuba win in straight sets against a modest Mexico.
FIVB Volleyball International Qualifier, Day 3:
POOL A (Varna, Bulgaria):
Egypt β Puerto Rico 3-0 (25:17, 31:29, 25:17)
Bulgaria β Brazil 2-3 (25:23, 25:19, 30:32, 16:25, 11:15)
POOL B (Rotterdam, the Netherlands):
Netherlands β USA 1-3 (18:25, 20:25, 25:17, 21:25)
South Korea β Belgium 0-3 (25:27, 21:25, 24:26)
POOL C (Bari, Italy):
Cameroon β Australia 0-3 (17:25, 16:25, 18:25)
Serbia β Italy 0-3 (16:25, 19:25, 19:25)
POOL D (GdaΕsk, Poland):
France β Tunisia 3-1 (25:21, 20:25, 25:19, 25:22)
Poland β Slovenia 3-1 (21:25, 25:23, 25:23, 25:21)
POOL E (Saint Petersburg, Russia):
Cuba β Mexico 3-0 (25:18, 25:23, 25:22)
Russia β Iran 3-0 (25:19, 25:23, 25:23)
POOL F (Ningbo, China):
Canada β Finland 3-0 (25:16, 26:24, 25:20)
China β Argentina 2-3 (25-19, 22-25, 21:25, 25:18, 9:15)
β’ FIVB Volleyball International Qualifier, Day 2
β’ FIVB Volleyball International Qualifier, Day 1
Source and photos: volleyball.ioqt.2019.fivb.com