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	*NEWS*

Cuba 3, Russia 2

By LANDON HALL AP Sports Writer SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- The Cuban women maintained their volleyball dominance with their greatest Olympic triumph. Rallying from a two-game deficit, Cuba stormed back to win a record third consecutive gold medal with a thrilling 25-27, 32-34, 25-19, 25-18, 15-7 victory over Russia Saturday. ``We are Cubans. We came here to do the best, and that meant fighting until the end,'' captain Regla Bell said. Cuba now has won every major international competition since the 1992 Games, building an amazing 35-3 record in world championships and Olympics. The difference in ability and execution between the two teams was minuscule, and they battled back and forth in a match befitting the sport's two superpowers. Cuba had a 24-21 lead in the opener before letting it slip away. In the second game, Cuba led 24-23 but again failed to close. Both teams fought for and lost four more game points until Russia pulled ahead 33-32 on a kill by Elena Godina, who then closed it out by stuffing Marlenis Costa at the net. Regla Torres, Cuba's greatest player, brought her team back by getting her 6-foot-3 frame into the path of the Russian players as often as possible. ``We were very tense in the first two sets, because of the pressure of winning a third gold medal,'' Torres said. ``Then we relaxed and changed the way we played.'' Torres, who became the youngest volleyball gold medalist when she played on the 1992 team at age 17, was fearless in the middle, attacking the 6-4 Godina and Russia's other main scoring threat, 6-3 Liobov Chachkova. Cuba jumped to a 20-9 lead in the fourth game and withstood a late rally. In the deciding game, the Cubans took an 8-4 lead and kept hitting, as the young Russian team folded. Torres got the final kill, a shot from the right side. ``These last few games have been the most difficult of my career,'' Torres said. ``This has been one of those achievements I won't forget in all my life. I dedicate this win to the whole country of Cuba. I hope it will be an inspiration to the women of Cuba.'' The victory was sweet for Cuban coach Luis Calderon. He had replaced Eugenio George, the national team coach for 15 years, after George left the program in a dispute with sports officials. Fiery Russian coach Nikolai Karpol, meanwhile, fumed to the very end. Karpol, who led the Soviet Union to gold medals in 1980 and 1988, had become the most-booed man among the crowds at Sydney Entertainment Center with his fist-shaking tirades against his players. As the Cubans celebrated, he argued with officials over a previous call. Karpol was under intense pressure to bring home a winner after the team's fourth-place finish in Atlanta. Russia had won four golds and three silvers since volleyball became a medal sport in 1964. Besides 1996, the only time the Russians had not finished first or second was in 1984, when the nation boycotted the Los Angeles Games.