1 2 3 4 5 USA 30 19 24 GER 32 25 26 Germany Hands U.S. Women First Loss of World Cup TOYAMA, Japan (Nov. 9, 2011) - The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team lost to Germany 32-30, 25-19, 26-24 on Nov. 9 in the FIVB World Cup at Toyama, Japan. Team USA, now 4-1 with 12 points in the FIVB World Cup standings after taking its first loss of the tournament, is in second place behind lone undefeated Italy (5-0, 14 points). Germany battled back from a 9-4 deficit in the opening set and saved seven set points before winning a marathon 32-30 set. Germany used the momentum from the opening set to take a 12-6 lead in the second set and went on to win 25-19 as the Americans never got closer than four points. Germany rallied from a 22-18 deficit in the third set to win 26-24 after saving one set point.
(Left) Jordan Larson (11) and Heather Bown (7) try to stop a Germany attack. (Right) Logan Tom goes up for a block against Germany. (Photos courtesy FIVB)
“(Germany) played very well and full credit goes to the German side,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “At the end of the day, we made some errors down the stretch – we turned some plays down the stretch, but Germany made a couple of extra plays at some different times and that was it. The margins are thin; we expect that. As we go through this tournament it’s inevitable that there will be some adversity and it’s really about how your teams choose to deal with that, so hopefully our team will respond appropriately.” Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) led the U.S. with 18 points all on kills and 34 attacks. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) totaled 14 points with 12 kills on 21 attempts, one block and one ace. Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) contributed seven blocks and four kills on eight errorless attacks for 11 points. Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) charted five kills on eight swings and two blocks for seven points. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) recorded five kills and a block for six points. Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) added three points in just the third set, while Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) rounded out the scoring with a kill. Berg set the U.S. to a 48.5 kill percent and .384 hitting efficiency (48-1099) with 36 assists. Meanwhile, Germany hit at a .410 hitting efficiency (55-12-105) and 52.4 kill percent.
Heather Bown swings past Germany’s block. (Photo courtesy FIVB)
Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) tallied a team-high 10 digs to go with 10 excellent receptions on 25 attempts. Larson was credited with 18 excellent receptions on 31 attempts. “Today was definitely Germany’s day,” said Berg, the U.S. captain. “Congratulations to them on a great-fought match. USA didn’t play our best, but we had chances – definitely in sets one and three – but didn’t take advantage of them and had some bad unforced errors at that time. Nobody said this tournament was going to be easy.” McCutcheon started Berg at setter, Tom and Larson at outside hitter, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker and Hooker at opposite. Davis was the designated libero for the match. Scott-Arruda started the third place in place of Bown. Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) was a sub in all three sets. Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) was a sub in the final two sets, while Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.) was a reserve in the second set. Germany’s serve kept the Americans off-balance all night as it held a 6-1 ace advantage to offset Team USA’s 11-7 block margin. Germany turned in a 63.6 service reception percent with 43 excellent receptions on 66 attempts, while the U.S. held a 41.1 service reception percent with 33 excellent receptions on 73 attempts. Germany also held a 55-48 lead in kills. Germany’s Angelina Grun produced a match-high 21 points in the victory, while Corina Ssuschke-Voigt and Maren Brinker collected 14 points each.
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(Above) Jordan Larson reaches to keep the ball in play. (Left) Hugh McCutcheon attending the post-match press conference after the loss to Germany. (Photos courtesy FIVB)