Poland upsets defending champion Italy, U.S. edges Brazil

Vicente Panetta Associated Press Buenos Aires

Feisty Poland shocked defending champion Italy 3-2 in the first round of the World Volleyball Championships on Monday, capping a day of upsets in which the United States bested mighty Brazil.

Playing a grueling match in the central city of Santa Fe, Poland came from two sets down to stun the three-time champion Italian squad in a duel that went 20-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-21 and 15-10.

Numb from the defeat, Italian coach Andrea Anastasi sounded at a loss for words. While Poland is now assured a second round berth, the Italians will only advance if they beat Canada later on Tuesday.

"We had the game sealed up and then we suffered this," said Anastasi.

Yugoslavia, the United States, the Netherlands, Argentina, Portugal, France and Bulgaria also had advanced to the second round based on first-round victories so far.

The preliminary round will conclude on Wednesday as 24 nations compete in the 15th edition of the World Volleyball Championship, a premier tournament played once every four years.

On a day fraught with surprises, the United States struggled back from a two-set deficit in two hours and 15 minutes against a deeper, more experienced Brazilian squad and won the match 25-22, 20-25, 25-27, 33-31 and 15-12.

Brazil fell to 1-1, but still has a good chance to move on in the tournament when it faces a fairly weak Egypt in its final first-round appearance later Tuesday in the central city of Cordoba.

There were other upsets Monday as the teams played out their preliminary pool matches in six Argentine cities.

In Buenos Aires, France gave a 3-1 drubbing to Russia, a pre- tournament favorite, in 25-21, 25-21, 13-25 and 25-12.

Russia, which already dropped an opening match to Bulgaria, is staking its chances on staying alive on its matchup later Tuesday against a less-experienced Tunisia.

Meanwhile, Yugoslavia advanced easily to the next round.

The gold medalist at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Yugoslavia secured its position by overwhelming Kazakhstan, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-15.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands, which trounced Greece in its opening match, overcame a first-set pounding from the Czech Republic to win a five-set duel with two overtimes Monday, 14-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-27 and 15-11.

Elsewhere, Spain defeated Japan in a five-set bout, 25-18, 23- 25, 22-25, 29-27 and 15-13. Both teams are now 1-1 in group play and will battle to finish second in their group and qualify.

After losing a sloppy first round match, a revitalized Greece kept its hopes alive by dominating a younger and less experienced Cuban team, 25-21, 25-2 and 25-19.

Also Monday, Canada downed Croatia 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23), Portugal topped Australia 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-21, 29- 27), Argentina defeated China 3-1 (32-30, 25-19, 24-26, 25-21), and Bulgaria topped Tunisia 3-1 (21-25, 33-31, 25-12, 25-15).