United States ascends to FIVB World League throne

(BEIJING, July 28) -- The United States won the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World League for the first time on Sunday, July 27, defeating Serbia in the final and ending Brazil's seven-year World League reign. Russia finished in third place by defeating Brazil, keeping the Brazilians off the podium for the first time in ten years.

The final between the United States and Serbia was balanced, with both sides displaying spirit and skill. The United States won the match using their tried-and-true block and defence system combined with strong spiking. The 26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22 victory makes them the sixth country to win the World League in the tournament's 19-year history.

"The World League was a really tough competition and an excellent test for us," said US head coach Hugh McCutcheon. "Winning it for the first time is a fantastic achievement to the USA. Serbia brought many problems to us during the match."

In the battle for third place, Russia overcame Brazil 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19, dropping the host team to a fourth-place finish. Brazil seemed to be out-of-form in the first set, perhaps still recovering from the disappointing straight-set loss to the United States in the semifinals on Friday.

"I am really sad because I was not able to recover the team emotionally," said Brazilian head coach Bernardo Rezende. "Some players were under their levels and did not make it. Let's work on these days to put them in a good shape again."

Russian head coach Vladimir Alekno recognized what a great accomplishment it was to defeat Brazil. "I am really happy because of this win. I think that is the first against Brazil since 2002," he said. "I know that one night would not be enough to change thing in technical side, so I tried to work on their minds."

Of the six teams that reached the final round of the World League, four -- Russia, Brazil, Serbia and Poland -- will compete in the same preliminary-round group of the Beijing Olympic Games. The United States and Japan will compete in the opposite group.

World League 2008 final standings:

1. The United States

2. Serbia

3. Russia

4. Brazil

5. Poland

6. Japan

7. Bulgaria, China, Italy

10. Cuba, Finland, France

13. Egypt, Republic of Korea, Spain, Venezuela

Best Players

MVP (most valuable player): Lloy Ball (The United States)

Best Scorer: Ivan Miljkovic (Serbia)

Best Spiker: Dante (Brazil)

Best Blocker: Marko Podrascanin (Serbia)

Best Server: Giba (Brazil)

Best Setter: Lloy Ball (The United States)

Best Libero: Richard Lambourne (The United States)