In Cooperation with the FIVB.

World League Pool B: GRE vs. VEN
From FIVB online.

Greece lost to Venezuela for the second night in a row, Saturday evening at Patras, and concluded its World League obligations for 2001. Greece had needed a victory by at least 3-0 sets and 75-63 points to keep alive its very slim hopes of a Final Eight berth. But the home team players seemed unmotivated for two sets and allowed Venezuela a comfortable 2-0 lead. While Greece came back to force the game into a tie-break, Venezuela eventually emerged the winner afetr a very close fifth set --the fifth consecutive defeat of Greece in Pool B of the Intercontinental Round of the World League.

Venezuela gained an early lead in the first set and kept it throughout, sailing to a 23-25 victory --easier than the score shows. In the second set Venezuela gained yet another comfortable four-point lead at 14-18, but Greece came back to tie the score at 18-18 and even briefly lead 21-20 and 22-21.

Venezuela, nonetheless, replied with straight points from an ace by Gomez on Giourdas, an attack error of Hadjiantoniou and an attack by Gomez, to make it 22-24. Gomez once more scored on an attack, to end the set 23-25. Greece made an amazing recovery, however, and denied Venezuela an easy straight-set victory. The home team led throughout the third and fourth sets. In the fifth, Venezuela extended a slim early lead to 8-11 (the 11th point from a yellow card to head coach Stelios Prosalikas) and 9-12. Greece tied the score at 13-13, and denied Venezuela five set poiunts, before the match ended 18-20 on a service error by Baev and a wide attack by Roumeliotis.