2008 Olympic Games

Day 4 Russia men and women defeated the African representatives Beijing, August 16, 2008 – Russia men and women teams took over the African representatives Egypt men and Russia women in tough matches of the fourth day of the preliminary round of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Russia overcame Egypt in straight sets (25-19, 25-14, 25-18) at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium. Russia women also sailed to an easy straight set win (25-14, 25-19, 25-10) over unfenced Algeria in just one hour in Pool B. Russia men is on top form after they stunned Brazil 3-1 in their last match while Egypt comes at the bottom of the pool. . Russia's Yury Berezhko and Semen Poltavskiy began their attack from back-court and front-row. Egypt's Hossameidin Gomaa responded by scoring from the left.Russia continued to dominate on the net with triple blocking tactics by Alexander Korneev, Alexey Kuleshov and Vadim Khamuttskikh, halting Egypt's offence. Alexey Ostapenko's vigorous serving affected Egypt's attacking rhythm, making Russia even more efficient with their blocks. In the later stages of the game, Russia was completely in command, leading all the way. A Kuleshov and Poltavskiy double-block scored the last point and ended the set and also the match 25-18. Ostapenko was the top server of the match with four aces and is the top server of the tournament with eight service aces.

Day 3 Egypt men lost against Germany with their best performance, Algeria women lost to Italy Beijing, August 14, 2008 – Egypt men’s volleyball team played their best in the Olympic Games but lost their third consecutive match against Germany in straight sets, while Algeria women couldn’t succeed to stop the superb Italian performance to lose also 3-0 in the third day of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Both teams stayed at the bottom of their pools in the Olympics. Germany labored to a first win in a Pool B match of at 3-0 (29-27, 25-21, 25-21) against Egypt at the BIT Gymnasium here on Thursday. World number two Italy took just 54 minutes to easily sweep past Algeria in straight sets (25-7, 25-20, 25-12) in a Pool B encounter of the Women’s competition The match saw the two winless teams face each other for the first time in any competition and there was little to choose between them in a tight first set. Germany, still reeling from their 2-3 narrow loss to Russia on Tuesday, were complacent in the opening points and allowed Saleh Youssef (EGY) and Mohamed Seif Elnasr (EGY) to have the lead. The Germans could not get their player combinations right, while digs from Marcus Popp (GER) and setter Frank Dehne (GER) were left unfinished as attacks were slow to coordinate. Numerous substitutions late in the first set changed the flow of the game, as all-rounder Jochen Schops (GER) produced a series of flawless spikes. Germany edged the set 29-27 after the referee penalized libero Wael Alaydy (EGY) for a line violation. Germany would not have been expected to dictate the rest of the match but suffered from clumsy errors and a failure to use key players at the net. Schops and Bjorn Andrae (GER) were forced to raise their game and Germany forged ahead to win the second set 25-21 on the back of a powerful ace from Schops. The Germans completed their first Beijing Olympic Games victory by winning the third set 25-21, but they will be looking to improve their 19 service errors in the match

Day 2 Egypt men and Algeria Women lost their second pool matches Beijing, August 12, 2008 – Both African representatives Egypt men and Algeria women lost their second matches in the finals of 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Poland took comfortable victory over Egypt in straight sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-10) in a Pool B match of the Olympic Men's Volleyball Tournament at the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium on Tuesday. With the win, Poland followed Russia to clinch the second win, sharing the lead in Pool B with four points. Egypt comes at the bottom of the pool. Algeria women also lost against Serbia in straight sets (25-14, 25-13, 25-13) on Monday. Poland kicked off the first set one step of their Egyptian counterparts and stayed that way for the rest of the match. Michal Winiarski (POL) and Sebastian Swiderski (POL) showed excellent stamina, driving powerful back-court spikes and scoring four and five points in the first set respectively.

Day 1 Egypt men and Algeria women lost against Brazil in the opening matches Beijing, 10 August – Both African representatives Egypt men and Algeria women lost against the World top force Brazil in their opening matches of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Brazil powered past a battling Egypt side in straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-18 ) at the Capital Gymnasium, while Algeria which play in the Olympic Games for the first time lost against Brazil also in straight sets (25-11, 25-11, 25-10). Brazil displayed speed, power and finesse early on as they grabbed a 5-0 lead, with Marcelo Elgarten's creative settings being converted into points by his hitters. Egypt had only opposite hitter Ahmed Abdel Naeim (EGY) as their offensive option and they were struggling against the Brazilian block. It was a well-balanced first set for Brazil as they displayed good offence and defense to comfortably claim the set.