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Italy settles for bronze Latest: Thursday October 12, 2000 02:15 PM
SYDNEY, Australia (CNNSI.com) -- Italy salvaged a disappointing Olympics by winning the bronze medal Saturday. The Italians, led by Andrea Sartoretti, Samuele Papi and Pasquale Gravina, have won every major title in the past six years but couldn't win Olympic gold. Italy quickly defeated underdog Argentine 25-16, 25-15, 25-18 in the bronze medal match. There was a question about whether Italy would show any life after losing to Yugoslavia in the semifinals. Having won the world championship in 1990, 1994 and 1998, the Italians had been favored in the last three Olympics, only to fall short each time. Still, the 1996 silver medalists showed early that the bronze was something worth fighting for. Italy jumped to a 7-2 lead and gradually pushed it to 18-11, as Sartoretti and Papi found seams from the corners of the net, and Gravina simply powered his shots down the middle. Argentina had made a surprising run to the semifinals, upsetting Brazil behind the hitting of Marcos Milinkovic and 37-year-old Hugo Conte. But the Italians were too quick with the block, and Luigi Mastrangelo let very few easy balls through. The Argentines tried to pump themselves up for the second game but began bickering when Italy started with an 8-1 spurt. Showing his versatility, Sartoretti jumped for a lefthanded spike, then pulled back to plop the ball over the net for an 18-9 lead. Argentina started much better in the third game and pulled within 22-18. But a serve into the net -- a chronic problem for the Argentines in the tournament -- allowed Italy to close it out. Argentina took fourth to improve on its eighth-place finish in Atlanta. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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