2018 FIVB Men’s World Championships – Preliminary Pool D
- Sept. 12-18, 2018
- Palace of Culture and Sports; Varna, Italy
- Pool D: No. 3 Poland, No. 8 Iran, No. 14 Bulgaria, No. 16 Cuba, No. 18 Finland, No. 29 Puerto Rico
Cuba picked up its first win of the World Championships to avoid last place in Pool D, while Poland rolled to its fourth straight with a sweep of Iran.
Cuba def. Puerto Rico 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17)
- Cuba moves to 1-4; Puerto Rico falls to 0-5
- Match Stats
- P2 Stat Sheet
- Highlights
“This was the best possible end of the tournament for us despite all the losses in the previous games,” Cuban coach Niclas Coffigny said. “Great win against a very tough opponent! I am satisfied not only with the victory today but with our performance during the whole championship. We lost some games but we became stronger gaining a priceless experience.”
Cuba dominated the stat sheet behind a 31-point effort by Miguel David Gutierrez.
Gutierrez accounted for 31 of Cuba’s 54 kills, while Miguel Lopez added 10 putaways as part of a 19 point effort. Lopez also chipped in a team-best five aces and four blocks. Roamy Alonso and Livan Osoria Rodriguez also put up four blocks apiece.
Maurice Torres and Eddie Rivera posted 15 and 11 points respectively for Puerto Rico. Torres left the match in Set 1 with leg pain, but returned to down 12 kills and added two blocks and an ace, while Rivera registered six putaways, three aces and two blocks. Sequiel Sanchez chimed in with nine points on seven kills and two stuffs.
The victory, Cuba’s first of the competition, came despite a lineup switch for the Puerto Ricans, including 39-year old Edgardo Roas at setter.
Puerto Rico won Set 2 despite losing Jonathan Rodriguez to a rolled ankle. Cuba utilized its block in Set 3 and its serve in Set 4 to close out the victory.
Poland def. Iran 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22)
- Poland moves to 4-0; Iran falls to 3-1
- Match Stats
- P2 Stat Sheet
- Highlights
Poland stayed perfect on the tournament with a sweep of Iran to stay on top in Pool D, setting up Tuesday’s finale against second place Bulgaria (3-1).
Poland put up eight blocks and had help from 22 Iranian miscues in the victory. Iran managed one more kill (43-42).
A balanced attack saw four Polish players turn in six or more kills and notch double-digit point tallies. Michal Kubiak led the way with 12 points (11 kills, 1 block). Piotr Nowakowski, Bartosz Kurek and Artur Szalpuk added 10 points apiece. Kurek put down nine kills, while Szalpuk added seven putaways and a team-best two aces. Nowakowski put up four blocks to go with six kills.
Amir Ghafour notched a match-high 17 points on 15 kills and two aces. Milad Ebadipour and Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad chipped in 10 points apiece. Manavinezhad registered 10 kills, while Ebadipour added nine putaways and an ace.
Poland wasted no time staking its claim on the match, vaulting ahead 8-3 and 16-11 in Set 1. Iran narrowed the gap to two, but the Poles held on for a 25-21 win.
The Polish side led by five at the second technical timeout, but Iran surged to within two with a 5-2 run. In the end, a pair of blocks sealed the 25-20 win for Poland.
Set 3 started with a 6-2 lead in Iran’s favor, but Poland erased that to tie the score at 14. The Iranians built a 22-19 advantage, but were stopped by a final 6-0 push for the victors.
| Matches | Pts | Sets | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | W | L | W | L | Ratio | W | L | Ratio | |
| 1 |  Poland |
4 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 6.000 | 347 | 259 | 1.340 |
| 2 |  Bulgaria |
3 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 3.333 | 311 | 270 | 1.152 |
| 3 |  Iran |
3 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 1.800 | 327 | 296 | 1.105 |
| 4 |  Finland |
2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0.667 | 349 | 361 | 0.967 |
| 5 |  Cuba |
1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 0.462 | 392 | 436 | 0.899 |
| 6 |  Puerto Rico |
0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0.200 | 331 | 435 | 0.761 |
| Date | Time | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep | 20:40 | Bulgaria |
3–0 | Finland |
25–21 | 25–19 | 25–22 | 75–62 | P2 Report | ||
| 12 Sep | 17:00 | Iran |
3–0 | Puerto Rico |
25–19 | 25–14 | 25–18 | 75–51 | P2 Report | ||
| 12 Sep | 20:30 | Cuba |
1–3 | Poland |
18–25 | 19–25 | 25–21 | 14–25 | 76–96 | P2 Report | |
| 13 Sep | 17:00 | Puerto Rico |
0–3 | Poland |
14–25 | 12–25 | 15–25 | 41–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 13 Sep | 20:40 | Iran |
3–1 | Bulgaria |
25–22 | 25–20 | 22–25 | 25–19 | 97–86 | P2 Report | |
| 14 Sep | 17:00 | Finland |
3–1 | Cuba |
25–19 | 25–19 | 20–25 | 25–16 | 95–79 | P2 Report | |
| 14 Sep | 20:40 | Bulgaria |
3–0 | Puerto Rico |
25–16 | 25–18 | 25–21 | 75–55 | P2 Report | ||
| 15 Sep | 17:00 | Cuba |
1–3 | Iran |
25–17 | 18–25 | 22–25 | 19–25 | 84–92 | P2 Report | |
| 15 Sep | 20:30 | Poland |
3–1 | Finland |
25–20 | 26–28 | 25–16 | 25–15 | 101–79 | P2 Report | |
| 16 Sep | 17:00 | Puerto Rico |
2–3 | Finland |
19–25 | 23–25 | 29–27 | 25–21 | 10–15 | 106–113 | P2 Report |
| 16 Sep | 20:40 | Cuba |
0–3 | Bulgaria |
22–25 | 16–25 | 18–25 | 56–75 | P2 Report | ||
| 17 Sep | 17:00 | Cuba |
3–1 | Puerto Rico |
25–15 | 22–25 | 25–21 | 25–17 | 97–78 | P2 Report | |
| 17 Sep | 20:30 | Iran |
0–3 | Poland |
21–25 | 20–25 | 22–25 | 63–75 | |||
| 18 Sep | 17:00 | Finland |
– | Iran |
– | – | – | 0–0 | |||
| 18 Sep | 20:40 | Bulgaria |
– | Poland |
– | – | – | 0–0 |
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