Posted at 6:36 a.m., Sunday, May 27, 2007
France outlasts U.S. in men's volleyball World League
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — France recovered from a 25-13 loss in the first game to beat the United States 3-2 in their opening World League match last night.The French, paced by Bojidar Slavev and Romain Vadeleux and setter Pierre Pujol, defeated the United States 13-25, 25-19, 25-17, 24-26, 15-13 at the University of Portland's Chiles Center. A second match was set for tonight.
The matches open six weeks of World League play and are key in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
The U.S. team is in a pool that includes France, Japan and Italy. Only one team from each pool qualifies for the finals in Poland July 11-15.
U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon will use the World League matches to help determine his rotation for Olympic qualifying events.
