Volleyball-France crush Poland to win back-to-back golds

PARIS :France beat the world number one ranked side Poland 3-0 to win the Olympic men's volleyball gold on Saturday, defending their title from the Tokyo Games but this time on home soil inside a rocking South Paris Arena 1.

France are only the third country to win back-to-back golds in men's volleyball after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

The U.S. had beaten world champions Italy in straight sets on Friday to take the bronze medal.

Jean Patry led the way for the hosts with 17 points and Trevor Clevenot had 11 while Antoine Brizard chipped in with crucial blocks at the net as France claimed a 15th gold medal at their home Games with a 25-19 25-20 25-23 victory.

Poland, who were back in the final after 48 years, were left to rue a missed opportunity to claim their second gold after winning the title at the 1976 Montreal Games.

Bartosz Kurek was Poland's top scorer with 10 points while their biggest star Wilfredo Leon, who had 94 points in Paris coming into the contest, had a quiet game by his standards with just nine points.

The teams got off to a sizzling start with every spike and every block drawing massive roars from a full house who shook the stands each they jumped out of their seats.

After trading blows early in the opening set, Poland fell behind due to several service errors before France wrapped up the set when Patry made an excellent dig to set himself up for a devastating kill.

Leon lifted Poland in the second set when he attacked with purpose until Brizard denied him a third straight point with the first block of the match, following it up with two more to give France the lead in the second.

Clevenot's clever shot selection for France had been instrumental and he scored three points in a row, winning a