Russians edge volleyball thriller

Cuba's Ana Ivis and Elizaveta Tichtchenko of Russia

The Russian women's volleyball team triumphed over reigning Olympic champions Cuba in a thrilling five-set group match.

Russia, ranked number one in the world and boasting six players 6ft 3 ins or over, recovered from losing the opening game to edge out their fierce rivals in the decider.

The Cubans, winners of the gold medal at the last two Olympics, looked favourites for victory after opening up a 2-1 lead, but their opponents responded to a verbal rocket from coach Nikolai Karpol, who shook his fists with rage, to level the contest.

Elena Vassilevskaia thumped home the winning smash as the Russians eventually triumphed 20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-12, 15-13.

Friedrichsen and Musch celebrate victory

US President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, was the main attraction at Monday's beach volleyball competition.

She visited the Bondi Beach stadium to take in some of the second round action on a day when most of the top-ranked players were not involved.

Lucky losers

On the sand, the German pairing of Maike Friedrichsen and Danja Musch bounced back from their shock opening round defeat by Anabelle Prawerman and Cecile Rigaux of France to register two victories.

The tenth seeds beat Australia's Sarah Straton and Annette Huygens Tholen 15-9, before brushing aside Greek duo Vasiliki Karadassiou and Effosyni Sfyri 15-7.

Friedrichsen and Musch, who were joined by teams from Italy, Cuba and China as lucky losers in the last 16, now face world champions Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede from Brazil.

But for Straton and Tholens - Australia's third-string team - defeat by the Germans spelled the end of the road.

"It's really disappointing for us," Tholen said afterwards, adding that she would be taking a break from international competition for a while.

The women's event resumes on Wednesday, with the men back in action a day earlier.