Title favorite Brazil edged arch-rival Cuba in full sets in Hamamatsu on Sunday to lead four teams unbeaten at the 2007 women's volleyball World Cup in Japan.

 

Sheilla Castro converted on 18 of her 38 spiking opportunities for game-high 21 points to lift the Brazilians, straight sets winners over Poland and Kenya in the last two days, to the 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 19-25 and 15-11 victory.

 

"I am so happy to have won this game. I think we are lucky," said Brazil head coach Jose Guimaraes. "Cuba is one of the best teams in the world, so beating them is fantastic."

 

In the tie break, Brazil surged away from 6-all to go up 10-6 and never looked back.

 

"Both teams serve very well today but we were a bit luckier and took eight points on service to Cuba's four," Guimaraes added. "In the tie break, we also got lucky as Cuba made serving errors, giving us points for free."

 

Paula Pequeno and Jaqueline Carvalho contributed 16 and 15 points respectively.

 

It was the second straight loss for Cuba, who fell to the United States in another five-set thriller on Saturday.

 

"Unfortunately, we lost this game but I am satisfied with what we did, all the players did their best," said Cuba coach Antonio Perdomo. "We are getting better and our playing level is rising."

 

Also in Hamamatsu, the United States beat Poland 25-21, 12-25, 27-25 and 25-17 to improve its win-loss record to 3-0, dropping the Polish women to 1-2.

 

US head coach Lang Ping believed good communication and teamwork was the key to her side's big wins in the last two days.

 

"We didn't get together for a long time, but the players know we have to communicate well and do better as a team, so I think we did a pretty good job in the last two matches. I'm happy for the players," she added.

 

The United States enjoyed a balanced offense with Tayyiba Haneef-park scoring 13 points to lead five Americans in double digits.

 

Italy and Serbia also joined Brazil and the United States in the undefeated club. Italy whitewashed South Korea 25-15, 25-19 and 25-22 in Tokyo, while Serbia held off Japan 25-20, 25-20, 18-25 and 26-24.

 

In Sunday's other action, Dominican Republic outlasted Thailand 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25 and 17-15, Peru overwhelmed African champion Kenya 25-16, 25-9 and 25-19.

 

Twelve teams will have rest day on Monday with the round-robin competitions to resume on Tuesday in Osaka and Sendai. Top three finishers from the tournament will qualify for next summer's Beijing Olympics.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 5, 2007)