Taraz, Kazakhstan, June 14, 2015 - Spain lost the first set but recovered and stunned Kazakhstan 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16) to stay on the winning track in Pool H of the FIVB Volleyball World League.
Both sides started struggling to find any sort of control over the first set. After the first technical time out Kazakhstan made the first impression with great spikes from Sergey Kostiv and Maxim Mamedov followed by an Alexandr Stolnikov's ace which put them 11-8 ahead. This three-point lead has been extended soon to 19-13 but Spain recovered and chased to only 20-19 down. As the set reached its climax Kazakhstan managed to hold their nerve and a strong attack by Vitaliy Erdshtein sealed their victory 25-22.
The start of set two saw Spain's confidence grow and they rushed into a 11-9 lead. However, Kazakhstan swung the momentum back in their favour and went up 15-14. It seemed that the game will remain tight but Fernandez Valcarcel's two consecutives points put Spain back on track with 16-15. Noda Blanco added an ace for 17-15 and this gave Spain the control of the set which they finished off with 25-19.
The third set started promisingly for Spain racing 8-4 ahead. Kazakhstan were not able to catch their opponents and the Spanish constantly kept a comfortable advantage courtesy of a devastating block. They did not let the initiative slip away and took the set 25-19.
Spain started slightly better into the fourth set than their opposition but were not able to establish a comfortable advantage until at the second technical timeout as they raced 16-11 ahead. They managed to dictate the game further, eventually expanding the gap to 19-12 and taking the set 25-16 on two Kazakhstan's own errors.
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