RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Argentina beat defending champions Russia 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21) in a Pool B match of the men's volleyball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games here on Tuesday.
It was the second victory of the South Americans over the powerhouse Russia in two months with the previous one a 3-0 result at the FIVB World League on June 26. Argentina improved to a 2-0 win-loss record in the preliminary round while Russia fell to 1-1 with three more pool matches to play.
Bruno Lima led the Argentine scoring with 18 points and Facundo Conte and Pablo Crer added 16 and 11 respectively.
The smaller Argentineans outblocked Russia 11-7 with Crer and Sebastian Sole registering 5 and 3 blocks respectively. The winners also outserved their opponents 6-3.
The Russians were led by Egor Kliuka with 16 points.
"The key was the force of the team," said Argentina coach Julio Velasco. "We are proud and also humble especially because we have great teams ahead, especially Poland. The match puts us close to the quarterfinals."