Olympic men's volleyball: Russia defeat Bulgaria to reach final

Maxim Mikhaylov #17 and Sergey Grankin #5 of Russia react after a play against Bulgaria during the Men’s Volleyball Semifinals

London - Russia ousted Bulgaria in a four-set Olympic men’s volleyball semi-final on Friday.

Bulgaria fought back in the third game after going two games down before a tense fourth game, in which the teams were neck-and-neck before Russia stole win at the end.

The final score was 25-21, 25-15, 23-25, 25-23.

Russian attacker Maxim Mikhailov was the man-of-the-match scoring 25 points and scoring the match point with a powerful spike.

In Sunday’s final, Russia will play either Brazil or Italy, who beat reigning champions the United States in the quarter-finals.

Russia, who won bronze in Beijing, lost 3-0 to Brazil in the group stage.