1 2 3 4 5 USA 25 25 25 JPN 22 17 23 U.S. Women Ace Japan to Start Grand Prix Final Round MACAU, China (Aug. 24, 2011) – The U.S. Women’s Na onal Volleyball Team defeated Japan 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 with an 8-0 ace advantage as both teams opened up Pool B of the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round on Aug. 24 in Macau. Team USA opened up an early 9-4 lead in the first set and led by as many as seven points at 17-10 before ending with a 25-22 victory. The Americans used a 6-1 scoring run to assume a 10-6 edge in the second set and pushed forward to a 25-17 victory thanks to six aces in the set. The U.S. went into the second technical meout of the third set leading 16-11, but Japan roared back to close to one at 16-15 forcing the Americans to rebuild their lead to 20-16 and held on for a 25-23 victory a er the Japanese saved three match points.
Des nee Hooker (19), Foluke Akinradewo (16) and Jordan Larson (11) . (FIVB photos)
“I like the way the USA team played today,” U.S. Women’s Na onal Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “We played with good energy and we were strong from the service line. Japan is always a challenging opponent with the speed at which they play, and we knew Japan would fight to the very end, and certainly it was the case today. They are a good team and we are happy to start with a win against strong opponent.” Des nee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) scored a match-high 19 points with 16 kills on 29 a acks with only two errors, two blocks and an ace. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) chipped in five kills on 19 a acks, four blocks and four aces for 13 points. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) provided eight kills and a block for nine points. Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) contributed five kills and two aces for seven points, while Foluke Akinradewo (Planta on, Fla.) totaled five points with three kills, an ace and a block. Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) rounded out the scoring with a kill. Berg provided 22 assists on 76 total set a empts leading to a 40.0 kill percent and .295 hi ng efficiency as the team commi ed just 10 a ack errors. Meanwhile, Japan converted 37.7 percent of its a ack a empts for points with a .274 hi ng efficiency. Larson contributed a team-high 13 excellent service recep ons on 34 a empts, while Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) picked up a team-high four digs. Tom chipped in eight excellent recep ons on 15 a empts.
Des nee Hooker stretches and takes advantage of her size and long arms to pick up a dig versus Japan. (FIVB photo)
McCutcheon started Tom and Larson at outside hi er, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker, Hooker at opposite and Berg at se er. Davis was the libero for the match. Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.) was a serving sub in the first set. “I think it was a well-played match by both teams,” U.S. Women’s Na onal Team captain Jennifer Tamas said. “We knew to play against a team with such a fast offense like Japan it is important to serve aggressively, and I think we did a good job at that today. We are happy with the start and with this win.” The U.S. controlled the service game with an 8-0 ace advantage. The American edged Japan 8-5 in blocks and limited their errors to 17 for the match. Team USA held a 41.8 service recep ons efficiency, while Japan had difficulty on serve-receive with only 18 excellent recep ons on 68 a empts. Saori Kimura led Japan with 12 points, while Mai Yamaguchi contributed nine points in the loss.
Hugh McCutcheon, Karch Kiraly, Dr. Sherwin Ho and Paula Weishoff celebrate the victory over Peru and finishing 8-1 in the preliminary round (FIVB photo)
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