FIVB Men's Volleyball World Cup 2015 Results: Schedule and Standings for Round 2
Canada beat Australia 3-2 in a five-set epic at the 2015 Men's Volleyball World Cup on Sunday.
Elsewhere, the USA maintained their perfect start to the competition as they beat Egypt 3-0, while Poland and Russia continued to nip at their heels with wins over Venezuela and Iran.
Japan lost in straight sets against Italy in a disappointing match for the hosts.
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Here are the latest results from the tournament, the updated standings and the schedule for the next round:
| September 13 | Egypt | 0-3 | United States |
| September 13 | Canada | 3-2 | Australia |
| September 13 | Italy | 3-0 | Japan |
| September 13 | Venezuela | 1-3 | Poland |
| September 13 | Argentina | 3-0 | Tunisia |
| September 13 | Iran | 0-3 | Russia |
| 1 | USA | 5 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 2 | Poland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | Russia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 4 | Italy | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 |
| 5 | Argentina | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 6 | Japan | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 7 | Iran | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 8 | Canada | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Venezuela | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 | Australia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | Egypt | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 12 | Tunisia | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| September 16 | United States | vs. | Venezuela |
| September 16 | Italy | vs. | Iran |
| September 16 | Japan | vs. | Tunisia |
| September 16 | Egypt | vs. | Argentina |
| September 16 | Canada | vs. | Poland |
| September 16 | Australia | vs. | Russia |
| September 17 | United States | vs. | Iran |
| September 17 | Italy | vs. | Tunisia |
| September 17 | Japan | vs. | Venezuela |
| September 17 | Egypt | vs. | Poland |
| September 17 | Canada | vs. | Russia |
| September 17 | Australia | vs. | Argentina |
| September 18 | United States | vs. | Tunisia |
| September 18 | Italy | vs. | Venezuela |
| September 18 | Japan | vs. | Iran |
| September 18 | Egypt | vs. | Russia |
| September 18 | Canada | vs. | Argentina |
| September 18 | Australia | vs. | Poland |
Sunday Recap
The only place to begin is Canada's phenomenal triumph over Australia, which broke records for the longest and highest scoring match at a World Cup, taking two hours and 49 minutes to complete with 245 points shared, per the tournament's official Twitter feed:
The lead went back and forth between the sides as Australia drew first blood, winning the first set 34-32.
Two strong sets from Canada saw them roar back into the match, but Australia were able to save a match point in the fourth as they levelled proceedings with a narrow 29-27 win.
A hard-fought final set followed and the match was ultimately decided as Steven Marshall served into the net.
John Gordon Perrin led the scoring for the winning side as he racked up an outstanding 26 points, while for Australia Thomas Edgar was equally impressive as he scored 21 points despite only starting the final two sets.
Nevertheless, Edgar was understandably disappointed with the result despite his excellent performance. According to the tournament's official website, he said:
"It was a difficult match. They had a solid attack and counter-attack. We had the momentum at the start but lost it in the second and third set. We battled back in the fourth set. We are still making easy errors. It's about how you finished games, not start them."
As the tournament's Twitter feed noted, the USA ruthlessly capitalised after Egypt showed signs of fatigue following their own five-set epic a day earlier:
The win was fairly routine as Egypt struggled to make the match much of a contest.
Taylor Sander scored 14 for the United States, whose spikes, blocks and serves were far more successful than Egypt's, according to the tournament's website.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Abdelhay was the only Egypt player to register a personal points total in double figures with 11, the next highest being Badawy Mohamed Moneim with a meagre five.
Per the World Cup's website, USA coach John Speraw expressed his delight with their unbeaten start to the tournament, but he maintained there was more to come from his side:
"I was pleased with our focus for this match. It was not an easy one for us. I feel good about where we are at 5-0 through the first round. We can continue to improve. We just have to keep focusing on the next match."
The American's Round 2 fixtures comprise Venezuela, Iran and Tunisia, who were all comfortably defeated on Sunday, and so they should have little trouble in extending their record to eight consecutive wins.
Russia and Poland are unlikely to be far behind, though, as they both impressed on Sunday winning 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. Dmitriy Muserskiy was singled out by FIVB:
Indeed, he put in a stunning performance as he was awarded the title of Most Impressive Player for his efforts, as he recorded 20 points, 16 spikes, a block and three aces, according to the tournament's official stats.
Led by Muserskiy, Russia could definitely rival the USA throughout the tournament.
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