1 2 3 4 USA 21 25 25 25 CUB 25 18 17 16 U.S. Men to Play Canada for Olympic Berth LONG BEACH, Calif. (May 11, 2012) – The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team will play Canada for a berth at the 2012 Olympic Games on Saturday after beating Cuba on Friday, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16 at the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.
Alan Knipe and his players listen to the National Anthem before the match. (Matt A. Brown photo)
The United States (4-0) will play Canada (4-0) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Pyramid with the winner taking the Olympic berth. Cuba (3-2) will play Puerto Rico (2-3) in the bronze-medal match, which begins at 5 p.m. The U.S. block came up big against Cuba with the United States holding a 14-5 blocking advantage. Four U.S. players finished with three blocks each. The U.S. also led in aces, 10-5, while Cuba held the edge in attacks, 4946. The U.S. scored 26 points on Cuban errors while giving away only 17. U.S. outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) led all scorers with 24 points on a match-high 17 kills (70.8 kill percent, .708 hitting efficiency), three blocks and a match-high four aces. Opposite Clay Stanley added 13 points on seven attacks, three blocks and three aces. The U.S. Men kept the first set close, but were never able to take a lead and pull away. In the next three sets, they took early leads and pulled away from Cuba.
Russell Holmes (12) goes for the kill of the set by Donald Suxho (left in white). (Matt A. Brown photo)
“We didn’t start off the way we wanted to, but some of that credit goes to Cuba,” U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.) said. “I want to give a lot of credit to our passers tonight because (Wilfredo) Leon and (Fernando) Hernandez can put a lot of pressure on you. I was extremely proud of that effort as the match went on, but more importantly of the group because they stayed together and kept focus.” “I don’t know what happened in the first set, Cuba put some pressure on us, but I am really proud of my team,” Stanley said. “Matt Anderson served his butt off tonight and he played great offense. Russell Holmes did a great job. We passed the ball pretty good. As a team we played an all-around good match.” Wilfredo Leon paced Cuba with 15 points on 13 attacks and two aces. Among other U.S. scorers, middle blocker David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) finished with 11 points on eight attacks and three blocks. Middle blocker Russell Holmes (Fountain Valley, Calif.) totaled 11 points on six kills, three blocks and two aces. Outside hitter Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) contributed eight points on seven attacks and one block. Setter Donald Suxho (Korce, Albania) totaled two points on one kill and one block and opposite David McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) had one point on a service ace. Suxho set the U.S. Men to a 52.3 kill percent and a .477 hitting efficiency. Cuba had a 45.4 kill percent and a .370 hitting efficiency. Libero Rich Lambourne (Tustin, Calif.) was credited with eight digs as was Anderson. The U.S. had 23 digs total.
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Clay Stanley (13) and David Lee (4) go up for the block against Cuba. (Matt A. Brown photo)