Russia alone with perfect record at Men's U23 Worlds

Cairo, Egypt, August 20, 2017 - Russia are the sole team to retain an absolutely perfect record at the conclusion of Day 3 at the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship, after they shut out China in straight sets and Brazil dropped a set for the first time in the competition to plucky Egypt here on Sunday.

Russia defeated China 4-0 (15-8, 15-11, 15-11, 15-11) in just 49 minutes and remain at the top of the Pool B standings without a set lost in three matches. Argentina are also undefeated and on full points after outlasting Turkey 4-2 (15-8, 6-15, 15-7, 15-17, 15-11, 15-9), but something has to give when they take on Russia on Monday.

In other Pool B action, Iran quickly recovered after losing the first set to Algeria to carry on for a 4-1 (16-18, 15-8, 15-7, 15-9, 15-12) sweep that theoretically keeps them in contention for a ticket to the semifinals.

Meanwhile in Pool A, Brazil dropped their first set in the competition to the home side of Egypt who produced a remarkable fighting spirit despite eventually going down 4-1 (15-12, 18-16, 15-11, 12-15, 15-12).

The South Americans remain undefeated at the top of the standings in Pool A, as Poland and Cuba continue to battle for second place. Poland wiped out Mexico 4-0 (15-8, 15-8, 15-10, 15-10) in a record-breaking time of 47 minutes, while Cuba edged Japan 4-2 (15-13, 19-17, 14-16, 13-15, 16-14, 15-13). Both Poland and Cuba are now 2-1.



All matches in Cairo are played under a new scoring system currently being tested: a best-of-seven, 15-point set format.





The top two teams of each pool advance to the semifinals. Teams ranked 3rd and 4th in the pools will play out for positions 5-8.

Competition in Cairo continues on Monday with the fourth round of pool play, before all teams take a break on Tuesday. Action will resume with the last round of pool play on Wednesday, ahead of the semifinals on Thursday and finals on Friday.

Monday's highlight is the clash between the two undefeated sides of Pool B, when Russia take on Argentina.



All matches are available to watch live or on demand on the FIVB YouTube Channel.

Summary Statistics - 2017 FIVB Men's U23 World Championship

Highest Scorer by Day
21 – Zhou Liying of China v Turkey on 18 August
29 – Hisham Ewais of Egypt v Cuba on 19 August
25 – Kenta Takanashi of Japan v Cuba on 20 August

Top Scoring Performances
29 – Hisham Ewais of Egypt v Cuba on 19 August
25 – Kenta Takanashi of Japan v Cuba on 20 August
21 – Zhou Liying of China v Turkey on 18 August
16 – German Johansen of Argentina v Turkey on 20 August
16 – Akram Dekkiche of Algeria v Iran on 20 August

Top Individual Blocking Performances
4 – Xiao Lijia of China v Turkey on 18 August
4 – Jaroslaw Mucha of Poland v Cuba on 18 August
4 – Jose Masso of Cuba v Egypt on 19 August
4 – Hisham Ewais of Egypt v Cuba on 19 August
4 – Javier Concepcion of Cuba v Japan on 20 August
4 – Augustin Loser of Argentina v Turkey on 20 August
4 – Saeed Jahaveri of Iran v Algeria on 20 August

Top Team Blocking Performances
12 – Cuba v Egypt on 19 August
11 – Poland v Mexico on 20 August
10 – Poland v Cuba on 18 August
10 – Argentina v Algeria on 19 August
10 – Egypt v Cuba on 19 August
10 – Cuba v Japan on 20 August

Top Individual Serving Performances
3 – Romulo Silva of Brazil v Mexico on 18 August
3 – Sergei Pirainen of Russia v Algeria on 18 August
3 – Aleksei Kononov of Russia v Algeria on 18 August
3 – Masato Matsuoka of Japan v Mexico on 19 August
3 – Javad Karimisouchelmaei of Iran v China on 19 August

Top Team Serving Performances
10 – Brazil v Mexico on 18 August
9 – Russia v Algeria on 18 August
8 – China v Turkey on 18 August
7 – Poland v Mexico on 20 August

Highest Scoring Sets
22-20 Brazil v Poland (2nd set) on 19 August
22-20 Brazil v Poland (3rd set) on 19 August
19-17 China v Turkey (1st set) on 18 August
19-17 Cuba v Japan (2nd set) on 20 August

Highest Scoring Matches
187 – China v Turkey 4-3 (19-17, 12-15, 11-15, 15-8, 15-10, 10-15, 15-10) on 18 August
180 – Egypt v Japan 4-3 (15-10, 15-13, 12-15, 15-8, 9-15, 13-15, 15-10) on 18 August
180 – Cuba v Japan 4-2 (15-13 19-17, 14-16, 13-15, 16-14, 15-13) on 20 August
170 – Cuba v Egypt 4-2 (13-15, 16-14, 10-15, 15-12, 15-11, 18-16) on 19 August
169 – Argentina v Iran 4-2 (16-14, 11-15, 15-11, 18-16, 13-15, 15-10) on 18 August

Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship 2017
FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship 2017 - Schedule
FIVB Volleyball Men's U23 World Championship 2017 - Teams
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