OLYMPICS LONDON 2012: Pipes upbeat despite fourth Games loss

By Ben Burrows, Sportsbeat, London 2012

BEN Pipes believes his side are improving after falling to a fourth defeat in the London 2012 Olympics volleyball competition.

POLAND PROGRESS: Team GB men's volleyballers could not secure their first Games victory after losing 3-0 to the Eastern Europeans

Great Britain battled bravely eventually losing out 3-0 (25-16 25-19 25-18) to Poland, the world’s number three ranked side, in just under an hour and a half.

And Team GB captain Pipes was delighted that the capacity crowd inside the ExCel Arena were in full voice throughout.

"I'm British. I don't care who's better than me,” said the 25-year-old. “We knew it was going to be tough.

"The fans were fantastic, and it was nice to see the crowd catching on. After four games, I think we're developing our play and I think the crowd are developing theirs."

Pipes’s side struggled in the first set but improved markedly in the second without seeing the rewards on the scoreboard.

Team GB improved again in the third and entertained the captivated crowd but ultimately fell to a six point deficit late on

And it was a fitting end as Zbigniew Bartman – top scorer with 20 points – ended the match with a typically thunderous spike to seal the win.

Harry Brokking’s men – playing in their first-ever Olympic tournament – play their final Group A game against Argentina on Monday still searching for their first win.

© Sportsbeat 2012