Italy strolled to a 3-0 victory over Germany in their opening Pool F match of the FIVB Volleyball World Championship for Men in Hiroshima on Saturday.
The Italians, who were bringing a 2-1 record from Pool C in Nagano, won 25-23, 25-22, 25-16 against the hapless Germans, had similar numbers from Pool B in Fukuoka.
But it was Italy who proved more worthy with their line-up of solid, no-nonsense players too strong for a German team who had surprised most people with their performances in the preliminary round.
While Italy can still hope for a place in the semi-finals the Germans, with two defeats, face an uphill task to make it into the top two.
Germany made a nervous start as they went down 3-0 on three errors. Luigi Mastrangelo, captain Samuele Papi, Michal Lasko and Alessandro Fei added to Italy's pionts while Bjorn Andrae and Christian Pampel kept Germany in it.
After Italy went 8-5 ahead, Marcus Popp and Andrae tried to get Germany back on level terms but the Italian defence hulked over them with Fei lurking on the right for attacking opportunities.
Germany were not helped by some erratic serving as Fei sent down another bullet winner to give Italy a healthy 16-11 lead at the second TTO.
Popp and Pampel helped bring Germany back to 18-17 before Fei halted their four-point streak. Germany, though, stubbornly kept at it and were rewarded when Pampel's soft touch brought them level at 21-21.
After some tense exchanges Fei gave Germany set point and then Italy won the set when Pampel hit meekly into the net.
It was clear that Italy needed Fei to be on top form if they wanted to continue their domination and Pampel required more help from teammates such as Popp and Andrae.
The experienced Stefan Hubner and Ralph Bergmann stepped up in the second set for Germany, who trailed 8-7 at the first TTO. But they were lacking in defence, which allowed the Azzurri to pick up points almost at will.
Italy threatened to run away with the set at 13-10 after three straight Germany errors but Popp inspired another comeback to help his team claw back to 14-14.
The giant Mastrangelo's winner took Italy two points clear and into the second TTO 16-14 in front. Germany made too many errors, especially from the service line, as Italy took control at 20-17, with Fei powering home the spike that gave his team s two-set lead.
Italy didn't have to do much for their 8-5 lead at the first TTO of the third set with Germany again undone by a litany of errors.
The gap in quality between the two teams was starting to become clearer with Italy's Andrea Semenzato and Alberto Cisolla joining in the action to take their team 13-8, forcing German coach Stelian Moculescu to push the panic button.
Even Pampel was struggling to find his range as Moculescu brought on captain Frank Dehne for Simon Tischer at setter. Though it appeared to give Germany more energy, Dehne's weak serve allowed Italy to surge ahead 16-11.
And when Andrae fired wide, for an 18-11 Italian advantage - it looked like it was all over for Germany, who were missing the fight and passion that helped them to four victories in Pool B.
Indeed, Italy cruised the rest of the way with Fei brought up six match points and the defence blocking effectively to seal the Azzurri's victory.
