2011 USA Women’s National Team Match Capsules U.S. WOMEN RALLY TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT PAN AM GAMES BRONZE MEDAL USA..................................23 25 25 25 Dominican Republic..........25 16 20 19 GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Oct. 20, 2011) – Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.) scored 23 points and the U.S. Women’s National Team used 22 blocks to rally past Dominican Republic 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 in the Pan American Games bronzemedal match Thursday evening in Guadalajara, Mexico. The U.S. Women, with seven players making their international senior-level debut, ended the tournament in third place after starting the tournament 3-0 in pool play. The U.S. overcame an 8-2 deficit in the opening set by using a 7-0 run to take a 2018 advantage, but Dominican Republic answered late with a 25-23 victory. Team USA used seven blocks in the second set to build a 21-10 advantage and en route to a 25-16 victory. The U.S. overcame an 8-5 deficit in the third set by using a 10-1 scoring run to take a 15-9 advantage and held on for a 25-20 victory. Team USA broke free from a 15-14 advantage in the fourth set with a 5-0 scoring run and closed the match with a 25-19 victory as Barboza scored nine of her points in the set. “I think we did a really great job and learned our lessons from last night,” Barboza said. “We fought hard and executed. When we got off the bus today, it was all about beating the Dominican Republic.” Barboza, the U.S. captain, scored her 23 points on 22 kills via 52 attacks and a block. Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minn.) added 16 points with 11 kills and five blocks. Angie Forsett (Lake Worth, Fla.) came off the bench to notch 11 kills and four blocks as part of a 15-point performance. Jessy Jones (Naperville, Ill.) charted five kills and seven blocks for 12 points. Cassidy Lichtman (Poway, Calif.) contributed five kills and four blocks for nine points. Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.) rounded out the scoring with a kill, block and ace for three points. Barboza has now won the bronze medal in three consecutive Pan American Games, while Thompson has earned her second bronze medal. Barboza and Thompson are two of the five players with senior-level international playing experience with the U.S. along with Forsett, Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii) and Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.).
Courtesy of NORCECA
“I love this game and I love this team,” Thompson said. “It is easy to get fired up for something like this. We really wanted a medal. You can watch film and hear about it, but until you are in the arena, you don’t know.” The U.S., behind 41 assists by Thompson, converted 35.5 percent of its attacks with a .252 hitting efficiency (55-16-155). Meanwhile, Dominican Republic converted 31.6 percent of its attacks as part of a .137 hitting efficiency (53-30-168). Lichtman recorded a team-high 11 digs, while Forsett contributed nine digs in the victory. Barboza, Thompson and Miyashiro all posted seven digs for Team USA. Miyashiro totaled 24 excellent receptions on 30 attempts, while Lichtman added 16 excellent receptions on 25 attempts. The U.S. held a 22-8 margin in blocks and a slim 55-53 edge in kills. The Americans held their errors to 17 in the match, while Dominican Republic committed 20 errors. Team USA also produced a 46-43 margin in digs. As a team, the U.S. tallied 57 excellent receptions on 76 attempts for a 72.4 percent. Dominican Republic held a 66.3 excellent reception percent on 92 attempts. “We didn’t change much,” Forsett said. “Last night we didn’t play USA volleyball. Tonight we finished. It’s redemption knowing you can do it. We never had a doubt.” Andy Banachowski, who is serving as head coach for the U.S. Women at the Pan American Games, started Klineman and Barboza at outside hitter, Jones and Gibbemeyer at middle blocker, Lichtman at opposite and Carli Lloyd (Bonsall, Calif.) at setter. Miyashiro was the libero for the match. Forsett replaced Klineman in the first set and remained on the court the rest of the match. Thompson subbed into the match in the first set for Lloyd and started the remaining three sets, although Lloyd returned briefly in the third set. Kayla Banwarth (Dubuque, Iowa) was a sub in all four sets. Bethania De La Cruz scored a match-high 26 points to lead Dominican Republic, while Prisilla Rivera added 15 points in the loss.
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