1 2 3 4 5 USA 25 25 25 SRB 22 20 21 U.S. Women Sweeps Serbia to Reach Gold-Medal Match MACAU, China (Aug. 27, 2011) - The U.S. Women’s Na onal Volleyball Team is one win away from defending its FIVB World Grand Prix tle as Des nee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) scored 20 points in leading the Americans over Serbia 25-22, 25-20, 25-21 on Aug. 27 during the FIVB World Grand Prix semifinal round being held in Macau, China.
Nicole Davis reaches to pass the ball as Jordan Larson watches. (FIVB photo)
The U.S. used a 4-0 run to take a 19-14 lead in the opening set and held on for a 25-22 victory. Team USA broke a 13-all e in the second set with a 4-1 scoring run and ended the period with the final three points at 25-20. The Americans broke a 10-all e in the third set with a 6-1 run thanks to five Serbia errors to go into the second technical meout leading 16-11, only to have Serbia rally to e the set at 20-all. However, the U.S. scored five of the final six points to close out the set 25-21. Hooker totaled her 20 points via 15 kills on 37 a acks and match-high five blocks. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) added 10 kills on 19 errorless a acks, one block and one ace for 12 points. Foluke Akinradewo (Planta on, Fla.) contributed 10 points with six kills on 13 swings, three blocks and an ace. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) scored five kills on 18 a acks, while Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) added four kills on seven a acks and a block. Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) rounded out the scoring with a kill. “Serbia had a remarkable run at this tournament to be here in the semifinal,” U.S. Women’s Na onal Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “They played wonderful volleyball for the whole four weeks. From the start today we knew it would be a difficult match. On our side we think we applied strong pressure from the service line, which enabled us to get our blockers and defense into some good posi ons.”
Des nee Hooker a acks while Foluke Akinradewo and Jordan Larson prepare to cover a poten al block by Serbia. (FIVB photo)
Berg was credited with 15 assists to help the Americans convert 43.2 percent of its a acks with a .379 hi ng efficiency. In contrast, Serbia converted 37.4 percent of its a acks with a .235 efficiency. Larson secured 12 excellent recep ons on 27 service recep ons, both team highs. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) added four excellent recep ons and three digs. “Tonight every player on the team had a goal of playing as hard as we could,” U.S. Women’s Na onal Team captain Jennifer Tamas (Milpitas, Calif.) said. ”We wanted to get to the final. Our goal for this tournament is to get be er as a team, and I think tonight we accomplished that.” 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. Alisha Davis (Leland, Mich.) was a sub in the third set. Team USA held a commanding 10-3 advantage in blocks and Serbia commi ed 22 errors in the match to the Americans’ 12 errors. Serbia held a 5-2 margin in aces a slim 43-41 advantage in kills. Jovana Brakocevic led Serbia with 19 points all on kills. Sanja Malgurski chipped in 16 points on 11 kills, three blocks and two aces in the loss. “USA played really well tonight,” Serbia coach Zoran Terzic said. “I am sa sfied with the way we played. We played three mes against the USA, and all three mes we played well, but the quality of USA was be er tonight. I have a lot of respect for the USA team, not only for the quality of the players, but also their a tude and the coaches.”
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(Above) Fans, including a Logan Tom fan club, was cheering on the U.S. Women’s Na onal Team. (Le ) A fan shows her support with the American flag. (FIVB photo)