Bari, Italy, September 12, 2018 – Russia lived up to expectations as the gold medal winners from the 2018 Volleyball Nations League claimed a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-16) victory over Australia in the second matchup on the schedule in Pool C at PalaFlorio in Bari. The Russians turned out to be too strong even for a very solid Australian team.
Sergey Shliapnikov, head coach of Russia: “It was important to win at the beginning of the tournament. The first match is always a little bit complicated. We were nervous at the beginning and there were some imperfections in our game, but once we reduced the number of errors, we turned the charts around. I am happy with my team’s performance. We will now think about the next challenges. We will do it with the usual tenacity and strength.”
Paul Carroll, captain of Australia: "We have just faced one of the best teams in the world. The good play we made in the first and second sets was not enough to match up to Russia. Their service caused us many problems during the decisive moments of the match. Despite our defeat, we showed a great performance. We hope to have the same mind-set in the next matchup against the United States."