Sunday June 25,
2000
Italy, South Korea
earn Olympic volleyball berths, Canada winless
TOKYO (CP) - The Italian women's volleyball team secured a
berth in the Olympic Games with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-16) win over Canada Saturday at a
qualifying tournament.
The top-four teams advance to the Games with one berth
guaranteed for an Asian country. Italy, 6-0, and South Korea, 4-2, have secured two of the
four spots. The Canadians, the lowest-seeded team in the eight-country competition at 14th
in the world, are 0-6 and have no chance of going to Sydney in September.
South Korea booked its Olympic ticket despite losing 3-2
(25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-7) to top-seeded and world No. 4 China. Croatia and China
are both 4-2 heading into Sunday's final matches.
Japan put its Olympic hopes in peril by blowing a two-set
lead in a crucial 3-2 (26-28, 23-25, 25-20, 28-26, 15-9) loss to Croatia before 9,200 fans
at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The Japanese, 3-3, now stand only a mathematical chance of
qualifying.
Service reception errors dogged the Canadians. Rae-Anne
Mitchell of Prince George, B.C., led the Canadian offence with seven kills and had three
blocks. Janis Kelly of Winnipeg, one of two veterans from the 1996 Olympic team, also
contributed seven kills.
Host Australia, Cuba, Brazil, Russia, Peru, Germany, the
U.S. and Kenya have already qualified for the Sydney Games
Canada ends the tournament Sunday against the Netherlands.
Reprinted with permission
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