Osaka, Japan, September 18, 2015 –
USA guaranteed they would stay top of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup Japan 2015 standings going into the third round as they beat Tunisia in straight sets (25-14, 25-19, 29-27) to pick up an eighth win.
It looked like it would be a routine win for the United States, but a tense third set nearly saw Tunisia claw one back. Matt Anderson topped the scorers with 22 points while Tunisia were led by Hamza Nagga and Hichem Kaabi on 10.
USA trailed Tunisia at the start of the match, with the African’s attacking game spread well and effectively finding spaces around the United States’ block. The world No.5 maintained their composure to take the lead at the first technical time out on an Aaron Russell block and they built on that advantage as they began to find their rhythm. With their attack now in full swing, and Tunisia committing a total of nine errors, it took little time for US to ease to the set.
The momentum continued for the Americans in the second and they kept Tunisia at arms-length throughout. The attack, spearheaded by Matt Anderson who scored five points in the set, continued to rain down spike after spike as the Tunisian defence crumbled on 25-19.
Tunisia began to mount a fightback in the third, with USA their own worst enemy with seven errors committed going into the second technical timeout. It did not get better for the Americans as they started to let the set slip from their grasp and it was the tensest of conclusions to the set, with Tunisia throwing away several match points. However, with their backs against the wall, USA held on and a Holt block ended the match in his country’s favour.
