Veteran Australian volleyballer Rebecca Walter has described the Cuban service game as the best she has ever seen after the Volleyroos were beaten 3-0 in their opening match of the Women's Grand Prix in Kazakhstan.
Cuba dominated all facets, but service, with nine aces, was the big difference.
"They were ripping jump serves, and it's jump serves that most of us in this team haven't seen before," Walter said.
"We don't have that quality of server in Australia. I think a lot of those times we got aced, they were some of the best serves I've ever seen."
Australia opened strongly against the three-time Olympic gold medallists, leading for times before going down 25-23.
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But Cuba stepped up a gear in the second and third sets, winning 25-12, 25-16.
"I think in the first set we were very positive," Volleyroo Lauren Bertolacci said.
"After that we struggled with their jump/spin serve. They had a serve we hadn't seen before, and once they started to get their rhythm it got a bit tough for us and frazzled our game."
Sophie Godfrey and Hannah Martin were the leading point scorers for Australia, with six points each, while Melissa Abreu had 18 points in a dominant display for Cuba.
The Australians take on host nation Kazakhstan on Saturday, one of two teams who beat the Volleyroos at the recent Asian Championships
But Walter says the Australians are expecting a much better result this weekend.
"We didn't have a full strength team when we played them in the Asians, because we were hit by illness. So we're looking forward to playing them in their home country with a full strength team."
