TOKYO - Russia qualified for the Beijing Olympics at the United States' expense with a five-set victory Sunday on the final day of the men's volleyball World Cup.
The Russians won 25-23, 20-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-8 to improve to 9-2 and leave United States at 8-3 and out of the top three that qualified for Beijing.
Brazil and Bulgaria were the other Olympic qualifiers from the 12-nation tournament.
The United States could have qualified with a win but couldn't hold the lead they built up after three sets.
"We had a chance to win this match but Russia was really good down the stretch," said U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon.
"We played a lot of games through the World Cup and we learned a lot of things, so these matches have made us stronger toward qualifying for the 2008 Olympics."
The U.S. can still reach the Olympics through other qualifiers, beginning with a NORCECA zone qualifier on January 5-13 in Puerto Rico.
Semen Poltavskiy had a game-high 23 points for the Russians. Gabe Gardner led the U.S. with 21 points.
Earlier, Bulgaria secured an Olympic berth and a podium finish with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 win over Argentina to finish with a 9-2 record. Argentina ended with a losing 5-6 record.
Brazil, 9-1, plays host Japan later Sunday.
