Greece blew a 2-0 lead to lose in five sets to Venezuela in the final weekend of Pool B of the Continental Round of the 2001 FIVB Volleyball World League, at Patras. The defeat now minimises Greeces chances at a berth in the Final Eight of the competition. Greece was once again victim of its unforced errors --a total of 53, of which 29 were service errors.
Greece trailed Venezuela throughout most of the first set, but found itself with a narrow 16-15 lead at the second technical time out. After the time out, however, Venezue4la came back with five straight points, to make the score 16-20 and keep its lead at 21-23. Greece tied the score at 23-23 on a service error and an ace of Todor Baev, but it was Venezuela that first arrived at two set-points, 23-24 and 24-25.
Greece held back on both, tied the score at 25-25 with an attack by Marios Giourdas and got its first set-point at 26-25 with a wide attack by Manzanillo.
Greece had three more set-points (27-26, 28-27 and 29-28), before winning its last two points and the first set on a wide attack by Rojas and and a block on a free ball on the net by Theodoros Hadjiantoniou.
In the second set Greece broke away after 7-7 and gained a wide lead of as much as seven points at some instants, sailing to a comfortable 25-19.
Venezuela did not give up however and gained two- and three-point leads midway through the third set. Greece fought back to tie the score at 23-23, but Venezuela clinched the set on an attack by Gomez and a block by Blanca on Giourdas.
It seemed that Venezuela was ready to sail to a fourth-set victory and force the match into a tie-break, when it led Greece 19-23 in the fourth. It wasn't to be so easy,though. Greece came back to tie the score at 23-23 and even play a couple of match balls (at 28-27 and 29-28, before Venezuela eventually did win the set 32-34 --its final two points coming from a wide attack by Baev and a block of Manzanillo on Baev.
The tie-break proved too much for the home team.
despite the noisy support of the partisan crowd..
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