Aussie Men Doing Well in 2004 Olympic Qualifying

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David Martin's picture
Submitted by David Martin on May 27, 2004 - 5:00pm.

The Volleyball Team Australia Men have won three of their first four matches at the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Japan this week. :D

Showing their good form in the lead up to the tournament, the team defeated China, in China, for the first time ever on May 18. During that match, the Australians dominated the attack statistics and maintained a low error count for a 3:1 win (17-25, 25-23, 29-27, 25-20).

They started the Olympic Qualifying tournament with a close loss to France (France have since gone on to comfortably win their next three matches in straight sets) (18-25, 28-30, 26-28 ).

However, the next day they enjoyed an easy three-set victory over Algeria (who replaced Egypt in the tournament) (25-17, 25-22, 25-16) in front of 4200 spectators.

Alderman setting versus Algeria

The most significant match for the Australians in the tournament so far though was a fantastic five set win over the hosts Japan - the Australians first victory against Japan in Japan. In front of 10,000 fans, the Australian team used their experience in front of opposing crowds to keep their concentration and hold on for a memorable win (21-25, 25-17, 25-14, 19-25, 15-13).
Australia's head coach, Jon Uriate, was suitably proud of his team, calling the match "maybe the best performance ever" during the post-match press conference.

Shane Van Beest spiking against Japan

Against Canada the following day (May 26), it was a big change in atmosphere as the teams played in front of just 770 spectators. However, the Australian team didn't rest on their laurels, maintaining their good form for another straight sets win (25-19, 25-19, 26-24).

Moran diving for a ball against Canada

The team has still got another three matches remaining in the round-robin tournament (including one against the strong Chinese side), but they're currently in second place on the ladder behind the dominant French team and are giving themselves every chance at winning a berth at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Check the tournament website for more information (including live score updates):

http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/WorldOQT/mjpn2004/index.asp?sm=1