LONDON — Russia won the gold medal for the first time since 1980 with a come-from-behind five-set victory over Brazil on Sunday in the Olympic volleyball final.
Second-ranked Russia dropped the first two sets before denying top-ranked Brazil match point twice to spark a comeback in the 19-25, 20-25, 29-27, 25-22, 15-9 victory, paced by 7-foot-2 middle blocker Dmitriy Muserskiy with 31 points.
The Russian celebration was delayed at the end when the team thought they'd won it on Muserskiy's kill, but the officials awarded the point to Brazil. Muserskiy came right back to spike match point.
The win gives the Russians four gold medals in volleyball, most of any nation. But the last time Russia was atop the podium was in Moscow, when the former Soviet Union won gold on home soil.