LONDON (AP) — Italy won the bronze medal in men’s Olympic volleyball Sunday, winning 3-1 against a Bulgarian team that had been in disarray leading to London after its coach and several players quit the squad.
Italy won 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21 for its fourth medal in the last five games. The Italians took the bronze in Sydney and silvers in Atlanta and Athens.
This was Bulgaria‘s first men’s volleyball medal since its silver at the 1980 Moscow Games. The country’s president, Rosen Plevneliev, was in the stands for the third straight game.
Italy was led by captain Cristian Savani with 23 points while Michal Lasko added 18. Captain Vladimir Nikolov paced Bulgaria with 12 points.
Emanuele Birarelli smashed down match point after Bulgaria’s Michal Lasko had served into the net to give the Italians the chance to clinch victory.
Neither team’s top spikers made an impact. Italy’s Ivan Zaytsev barely played after coming off in the second set; Bulgaria’s Tsvetan Sokolov was off-target throughout.
The Italians were stronger on the defensive end as they blocked and dug well to stymie Bulgaria’s potent front line.
Italy, paced early on by Alessandro Fei‘s spiking, raced to a 17-9 lead. With the Bulgarians threatening, Savani whipped a 71 mph ace to put his team ahead by six points, and Italy won the set by that margin.
Savani helped Italy claw back to even the second set. The Italians moved ahead 23-22, but Bulgaria showed resilience to go to set point and convert on Simone Papi’s error.
Bulgaria, behind its powerful spiking, took an early lead in the third set. Italy rallied to go in front 16-15, and Savani smashed a second set point to put his country in command.
—
Follow Paul Logothetis on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PaulLogoAP
