The first 3 match reports are available on the AVF site.

2^nd Commonwealth Championships, in India - 3-8-07 (Tour Match 5)

Result:            VTA defeated Pakistan 3 – 0 (25-16, 25-20, 26-24) 

VTA Starting Line-up (and points scored): Young (2)(QLD), Hardy (C)(16)(ACT), Ferguson (13)(WA), Carroll (13)(NSW), Yudin (6)(VIC), Campbell (6)(VIC), Libero – DeSalvo (VIC)

Substitutes: Thwaite (0)(QLD), Earl (6)(SA), Roberts (DNP)(SA), Alderman (DNP)(QLD), Grant (DNP)(QLD)

Match Comment:  Australia played Pakistan in the Semi-Final of the 2^nd Commonwealth Volleyball Championships for men in Kolkata, India tonight. In front of an impartial crowd of more than 5500 Indian fans Australia kept its attack error rate to an impressive 10% for the match and out-performed their opponents in all other statistical areas, to win a closely contested match. Australia started well through an early block to Yudin and transition kills to Carroll and Yudin. Despite a block by Pakistan, Australia led 8-5 at the first technical timeout, when the Australian serve forced an error by the Pakistani setter. Pakistan stayed in the set with another stuff block, but blocks to Ferguson and Yudin gave Australia a 16-11 lead at the second technical timeout. Australia went further ahead as Ferguson carved up the opposition, with three service aces. Australia took the set in imposing fashion, after a tough fight in the early stages.

Australia had to work even harder in the second set to establish a lead. A transition kill by Carroll and a Pakistani attack error contributed to an 8-5 scoreline in Australia’s favour, at the first technical timeout. Two blocks and a transition kill by Pakistan narrowed the margin, but Australia steadied when Ferguson killed an overpass opportunity to give Australia a two point break at the second technical timeout. Australia increased the margin again, through yet another Ferguson service ace. In the end the set looked comfortable, but the scores did not really indicate the closeness of the battle. 

The third set proved to be the closest for the match. Despite a Hardy service ace and blocks to Campbell and Young, the Australians led by just one point at the first technical timeout. Hardy transitioned successfully shortly after the break, but Pakistan produced a transition of their own, to maintain the margin. When they killed an overpass, the scores were level, but Australia blocked again through Young to lead 16-15, at the second technical timeout. Both teams gained a stuff block after the timeout, Australia’s through Carroll. Australia took a two point lead when Campbell blocked again, but Pakistan served an ace to get within a point, once again. The rest of the set was a point for point slog. At 25-24 Carroll picked up a crosscourt dig, which was then set to him by blocking substitute Thwaite. Carroll produced a transition kill, to end the set and the match.

Australia will now play India (who defeated South Africa in the other semi-final) in the Gold medal match tomorrow in India.

Statistics:

Attack              – Team 56% kill 10% error (46%ke) Ferguson 67% kill (13) 0% error, Earl 67% kill (9) 0% error, Hardy 65% kill (23) 13% error and Carroll 60% kill (20) 10% error

Block               – Team 8 kill 15 controls Campbell, Yudin and Young 2 kills each

Passing             – Team 2.27 59% perfect 4% error Hardy 2.41 (22) 64% perfect 5% error

Serving           – Team 1.73 5 aces 11 errors Ferguson 4 aces; Ferguson 2.12 (17), Earl 3.00 (3)

Best players – Ferguson, Hardy, Earl, Carroll and Young

Volleyball Team Australia v India Men’s Volleyball Team

2^nd Commonwealth Championships, in India - 4-8-07 (Tour Match 6)

Result:            VTA defeated India 3 – 2 (25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 15-11)

** Match report presently unavailable.

It’s hard when the team is on the road. Just getting to the internet can be hard. (Devo)

The first 3 match reports are available on the AVF site.

Volleyball Team Australia v India Men’s Volleyball Team

2^nd Commonwealth Championships, in India - 2-8-07 (Tour Match 4)

Result:            VTA lost to India 1 – 3 (25-19, 21-25, 23-25, 25-27)  

VTA Starting Line-up (and points scored): Young (3)(QLD), Hardy (C)(19)(ACT), Ferguson (15)(WA), Carroll (19)(NSW), Yudin (9)(VIC), Campbell (7)(VIC), Libero – DeSalvo (VIC)

Substitutes: Roberts (1)(SA), Alderman (0)(QLD), Thwaite (0)(QLD), Earl (DNP)(SA), Grant (DNP)(QLD)

Match Comment:  Australia, which was already assured of a semi-final berth, took on the undefeated hosts, India, to determine their semi-final opponent. In a match where Australia statistically out attacked India and all other areas were extremely close, Australian lost to India in a contest where just two points separated the teams at the end of play. In front of a vocal and partisan crowd of more than 5 000 Indian fans Australia made a good start to the match with an ace to Young and a transition kill to Carroll, to lead 8-5. An ace to Ferguson and a DeSalvo dig off spike reception which went back into the Indians’ court for a winner, increased Australia’s margin to six points at the second technical timeout. Ferguson blocked late in the set, to increase the margin to six points, which is how the set concluded.

Australia started poorly in the second set, making three attack errors out of its first six swings. Despite two aces in a row from Hardy, the Indians steadied with a service ace of their own to lead 8-5. Despite two Indian blocks after the first technical timeout, Australia fought back with a transition kill through Hardy, a Carroll block, three opposition attack errors and a Ferguson overpass kill, to lead 16-15. India was not prepared to surrender the set, after leading by five points at one stage and they produced three transition plays on serve, to swing the set in their favour.

The third set was even from the outset. Both teams made early transition plays, Australia’s through Ferguson and Carroll. Australia led by one point at the first technical timeout. India transitioned after the break, but Carroll blocked for Australia to maintain the one point lead at the second technical timeout. India transitioned again, soon after, to take the advantage. Both teams errored on attack as the pressure mounted. In the end it was India that blocked the Australians and then transitioned a fourth time, to take the set, by the barest of margins.

Australia made a good break in the fourth set. An overpass kill by Yudin, a service ace by Ferguson and a transition kill through Hardy gave them an 8-5 lead. When Hardy blocked after the timeout, Australia increased their lead to four points. A Carroll service ace countered an Indian block and the Australians led 16-11. It was India that produced a huge turnaround in the next period of play. With two service aces, two Australian attack errors and a block, India took the lead at 21-20. The set remained close from this point, but in the end India transitioned twice to take the set, and the match.

Australia will now play Pakistan in one semi-final and India will play South Africa in the other semi-final, tomorrow in Kolkata.

Statistics:

Attack              – Team 52% kill 19% error (33%ke) Ferguson 71% kill (17) 18% error and Hardy 48% kill (31) 16% error

Block               – Team 7 kill 19 controls Hardy, Campbell and Carroll 2 kills each

Passing             – Team 2.18 54% perfect 3% error Hardy 2.39 (33) 58% perfect 0% error

Serving           – Team 1.64 6 aces 16 errors Hardy and Ferguson 3 aces each; Ferguson 1.94 (18)

Best players – Hardy, Ferguson and Young

42 43 44 45 … 54 55 56 57 58 59 hours after Volleyball Team Australia Men win the gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships, there is still no mention of this on the AVF web site! Hallelujah! here it is at last.

The latest mention is of VTAM defeating Nigeria on Wednesday. It was posted on Thursday. OOPS! There’s a score from the India RR match on Thursday on the VTAM page. The Aussie boys won the gold late Saturday our time. It is now late afternoon Monday. So much for all the promises about the web site that we have heard over the last year. What message are you sending our boys? What message are you sending the volleyball public in general. Isn’t there someone there who can get on the web site and acknowledge our boys’ achievements?

NOT GOOD ENOUGH VOLLEYBALL AUSTRALIA!

The Australian Men’s Volleyball Team won gold tonight at the
Commonwealth Championships.

The Australians began well, dominating early. The Indian’s fought back in a close 3rd set and won the 4th set. The 5th was close early, but the Aussies pulled away in the last third of the set. The result reversed the round robin result where India won 3-1.

The team was more consistent and was able to hold off a good fight back by India. We can all be proud of the team’s win. Russ Borgeaud

Final Positions:
1. AUSTRALIA ~ 2. INDIA ~ 3. PAKISTAN ~ 4. SOUTH AFRICA ~
5. CANADA ~ 6. SRILANKA ~ 7. BANGLADESH ~ 8. NEW ZEALAND ~ 9. NIGERIA

Medals games:

Bronze / 4th: South Africa lost to Pakistan 1-3 (10-25, 25-23, 21-25, 21-25)

Gold / Silver: India lost to Australia 2-3 (18-25, 16-25, 26-24, 25-20, 11-15)

Individual awards:

Scorer: Sanjay Kumar (India), Spiker: Hardy Benjamin (Australia), Blocker: Subey Singh (India), Server: Nasir Ahmed (Pakistan), Setter: Daviduik Brock(Canada), Receiver: Chiya Freedom (South Africa) and Libero: Josh Classen(Canada)

At the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Saturday, the prize distribution ceremony too was quite familiar, just that the Ricky Ponting’s men were replaced by that of Benjamin Hardy’s. It’s not that the Rahul Dravids (read P.S. Srikanths) did not give a fight. The Indians, with a support of 8,000-strong crowd, fought back to equalise after going down in the first two sets to see Australians emerge winners in the 15-point decider.

“A win is a win… Be it on the basketball court or the on the cricketing field. Beating India always means a lot and the people back home will be overwhelmingly happy for our victory,” the Australian captain, Hardy said.

“Also the win is important to us as we’re in a month’s time competing in the Asian championships in Jakarta. This obviously will give us immense confidence,” Hardy added. The Telegraph more …

Press: The Telegraph ~The Hindu ~ India eNews ~ IndiaTimes

You can see all the match scores here.

It’s the beginning of the finals tonight in India at the Commonwealth Championships.

And another late night for Devo watching the scores tick over. Warm up the computer please Mr Sabesan.

Mr M Sabesan is the gentleman who has been responsible for the web coverage of the Championships. We are all very grateful for his efforts. Scoreboard

Hopefully Australia can remove the errors at crucial times of the match tonight against Pakistan, and get another crack at the Indians.

Match 1 - 7/8 - Bangladesh def New Zealand 3-1
(21-25, 32-30, 25-22, 25-21)

Match 2 - 5/6 - SriLanka lost to Canada 0-3
(25-27, 12-25, 18-25)

Match 3 - SF1 - India def South Africa 3-0
(25-20, 29-27, 25-16)

Match 4 - SF2 - Pakistan vs Australia 0-3 (16-25, 20-25, 24-26) ~ Stats

The team played well with a low error rate. Russ Borgeaud

Australia will play India tomorrow for the gold medal at 9.30pm AEST. The bronze play off between South Africa and Pakistan will be at 7.30pm AEST.

Press: The telegraph ~ India eNews ~ The Hindu ~ Kolkata ~

The future: An interview with Allan Brodie, Chairman, Control Committee here.

The last day of the round robin competition. The day begins with the match to decide the wooden spoon in pool B - Canada vs New Zealand. Pakistan has secured the top spot in the pool, with South Africa in second.

In pool A, SriLanka play Nigeria. A win to SriLanka will see them finish 3rd in the pool followed by Bangladesh and Nigeria. A win to Nigeria will see a 3 way tie at the bottom of pool A.

The big match of the night is Australia vs India to see who finishes top of pool A. The last time these teams played, in the world cup qualifiers, the Aussies won. Let’s hope that’s repeated tonight. You can watch the scores tick over here by clicking your refresh button.

The Indian site has had some linking problems tonight on the scores page. They have fixed it now. Thanks to M.Sabesan for his quick work on the site.

Game 1: Canada def New Zealand 3-0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-16)

Game 2: Nigeria lost to SriLanka 2-3 (15-25, 25-21, 17-25, 25-18, 11-15)

Game 3: India def Australia 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-23, 27-25)

We were too error prone at critical stages. Russ Borgeaud

Media: India Times ~ The Hindu ~ The Telegraph

“India was far more consistent and had a very good match”, conceded the Aussie coach Russell Borgeaud. “In such a contest, the difference between two teams would be one or two per cent.”

A beaming India coach, G.E. Sridharan, praised his boys for putting up a tremendous display.

“We beat Australia first time in many years. The boys played well. The team’s blocking worked and the attack was good,” he said. (includes picture) The Hindu more …

Spikers Paul Carroll and Benjamin Hardy were brilliant while libero Philip DeSalvo had some dazzling show with the Indians slowly losing their focus despite being pegged on by the 6,500-strong partisan crowd. The Telegraph more …

1-8-07 (Commonwealth Championships - Match 3)

VTA defeated Nigeria 3:0 25-15, 25-12, 25-16  

VTA Starting Line-up (and points scored): Young (1), Hardy© (5), Ferguson (7), Carroll (10), Yudin (4), Campbell (3), DeSalvo (libero)Substitutes: Grant (2), Alderman (1), Roberts (7), Thwaite (1), Earl (5)

Best players –Carroll, Ferguson, Young and Roberts

Read the full report on the AVF site. See all the match reports as they become available here. The Volleyball Team Australia Men home page is here. The AVF home page is here.

After a rest day, Australia will return to competition against the newly arrived Nigeria. Nigeria gave Bangladesh a scare yesterday, and with a good night’s sleep, should step up again today.

Pakistan versus South Africa will be the match of the night, with both teams in the hunt for top position in pool B to avoid Australia in the semi-finals.

Picture courtesy VFI web site.

Game 1: Australia def Nigeria 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-16) stats

The team played well against weak opposition.Tomorrow’s match against India will be a real test for us. Russ Borgeaud

Game 2: Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka 1-3 (25-20, 17-25, 18-25, 21-25)

Game 3: Pakistan def South Africa 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20)

Game 4: India def Nigeria 3-0 (25-6, 25-19, 25-15)

Media: India eNews ~ The Hindu ~ PakTribune ~ New Kerala

First they were there; then they didn’t turn up. Then they’re back in the draw and playing tonight! Australia is playing them tomorrow instead of the “demonstrate match” against New Zealand. (Pity. Love winning a cross Tasman competition - note I was kind enough not to use the word slaughter.)

I’m glad I’m not the guy doing the draw for the Commonwealth Championships. The IVF should make sure that guy gets a special reward at the end of the tournament. He’s earned it!

The updated updated updated draw is here.

The second Commonwealth volleyball championship is as weird as it gets. India set new standards in hospitality when it re-inducted Nigeria, which was earlier scratched from the tournament for not arriving on time. more at the India eNews

It’s a rest day for the Australians at the Commonwealth Championships in India today, but there are 2 3 other matches.

match 1: South Africa def New Zealand 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22)

match 2: Canada lost to Pakistan 1-3 (21-25, 21-25, 25-16, 16-25)

UPDATE:

Match 3: Nigeria lost to Bangladesh 0-3 (28-30, 16-25, 23-25)

You can watch the scores click over here. Just keep hitting the refresh button. The most up-to-date draw is here. It appears that Nigeria were a no show. Tomorrow, the Aussies play New Zealand from the other pool. It is being listed as an “exhibition match”! I think they mean a practice game. see here

NEWSREPORTS:

The Hindu ~ Pak Tribune ~ Kolkata Newsline ~ Daily New ~ Volleyball Canada

Match reports for the first two Australian Games at the Commonwealth Championships are now available on the Australian Volleyball Federation site. Check out the full reports.

29-7-07 (Tour Match 1)
VTA defeated Sri Lanka 3:0 25-14, 25-14, 25-18
VTA Starting Line-up (and points scored): Young (1), Hardy© (8), Ferguson (6), Roberts (4), Yudin (7), Campbell (4), DeSalvo (libero)
Best players – Hardy, Young, Carroll, Ferguson and Campbell

30-7-07 (Tour Match 2)
VTA defeated Bangladesh 3:0 25-16, 25-18, 25-22
VTA Starting Line-up (and points scored): Young (0), Hardy© (13), Ferguson (3), Carroll (14), Earl (4), Campbell (8), DeSalvo (libero)
Best players – Hardy, Campbell, Carroll, Young and Yudin

Game 1: India defeated Bangladesh 3-0 (25-7,25-18,25-13)

Game 2: Canada lost to South Africa 2-3 (25-17, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16,13-15)

Game 3: Australia defeated Sri Lanka 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18)

stat sheets here. PHONG NGUYAN reffed game 2.

A very good performance with everyone getting court time. Carroll was the top scorer with 10 points. Russ Borgeaud

Day 1 summary The Hindu. ~ Day 1 summary Deepikaglobal ~ India vs Bangladesh India Enews.

The Indian press are certainly getting behind the Commonwealth Championships. Thanks to Trevor Carroll for this alert.

Volleyball teams are a trifle finicky when it comes to exposing themselves before competition; the practice sessions are essentially closed-door affairs and everyone’s loath to divulging anything that is even faintly construed as being a tactical leak.

When the covers are finally blown at the 2nd Commonwealth men’s championship on Sunday the top three title-contenders will want to take a good look at each other. But will they reveal all?

When India, Australia and Canada launch the nine-team tournament with relatively easy openers on Sunday, they will want to quickly get into the groove and, maybe, also hold back something for the bigger challenges ahead. more at The India Times

Coach Sridharan, however, wore a cautious look and refused to take anything for granted. “Bangladesh might be a young side but I don’t want to take any chance… We will play safely but target will also be to win,” Sridharan said on Saturday, minutes after the tournament was officially inaugurated. more at The Telegraph

The Hindu newspaper is suggesting a revised draw for the Commonwealth Championships that start today. This draw differs from the one currently on the Volleyball India site. Note that Indian time is 4.5 hours behind AEST.

Group A: Australia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bangladesh and India.
Group B: Canada, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.

July 29:
India vs Bangladesh ( 2 p.m.), Canada vs South Africa (4 p.m.), Australia vs Sri Lanka (6 p.m.).
July 30:
Pakistan vs New Zealand (2 p.m.), Australia vs Bangladesh (4 p.m.), India vs Nigeria (6 p.m.).
July 31:
South Africa vs New Zealand (12 Noon), Nigeria vs Bangladesh (2 p.m.), India vs Sri Lanka (4 p.m.), Canada vs Pakistan (6 p.m.).
August 1:
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (2 p.m.), Australia vs Nigeria (4 p.m.), Pakistan vs South Africa (6 p.m.).
Aug. 2:
Nigeria vs Sri Lanka (2 p.m.), Canada vs New Zealand (4 p.m.), India vs Australia ( 6 p.m.).
Aug. 3:
A-4 vs B-4 (7th/8th places) (12 Noon), A-3 vs B-3 (5th/6th places) (2 p.m.), A-1 vs B-2 (1st semifinal) (4 p.m.), B-1 vs A-2 (2nd semifinal) (6 p.m.).
Aug. 4: Loser of match A1/B2 vs Loser of match B1/A2 (4 p.m.), Final (6 p.m.).

The Indian Volleyball Federation have pictures posted from yesterday’s opening ceremony. A good sign that they will be keeping us up to date with results.

Pictures are here.

The main page for the tournament is here.

The Commonwealth Championships begin tomorrow. Australia’s first match will be against Sri Lanka at 6pm Indian time.

Australia looks the strongest and compact side of all. Yet, the Indian coach, G.E. Sridharan, is quietly confident of his wards doing well.

When asked how he saw the other teams in the group, the coach said he was upbeat with his team’s current form and felt Australia