1 2 3 4 5 USA 25 25 20 13 15 BRA 19 20 25 25 13 U.S. Women Open Final Round with Another Win Over Brazil NINGBO, China (June 27, 2012) - The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team opened the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round with a 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 13-25, 15-13 victory over No. 2 ranked Brazil on June 27 at Ningbo, China.
Team USA group photo before the start of the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round. (FIVB photo)
The U.S. benefited from an 11-3 scoring run to take a 12-7 advantage in the opening set and went on to win 25-19. Team USA raced to an 8-2 lead in the second set, but Brazil rallied with an 11-3 scoring run to take a 16-14 advantage in the second set. However, the Americans scored seven unanswered points to grab a 21-16 lead and went on to win 25-20. Brazil bolted to a 5-1 lead in the third set and withstood several Team USA challenges before closing the set at 25-20. Brazil continued the momentum with a 5-1 lead early in the fourth set and closed out the set with a 12-3 run for a 25-13 victory. Team USA recovered from an 8-6 deficit in the tiebreaking set with a 5-1 scoring run and held on for a 15-13 victory. “In the first two sets we played well, we tried to play the plan,” U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “The third set was very different. Brazil is a strong team and responded very well in the third and fourth set. The fifth set was a battle. It is a good start for us in this tournament.” Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) led the U.S. with 16 points, including five points in the fifth set. She notched 15 kills and one block in the match. Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa) contributed 15 points via 12 kills, two blocks and an ace. Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) chalked up seven kills and seven blocks for 14 points. Christa Harmotto (Hopewell Township, Pa.) recorded seven kills and four blocks for 11 points. Kristin Richards (Orem, Utah) pocketed eight points all on kills. Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) tallied four blocks and a kill for five points. Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.) totaled three kills, while Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) provided two kills. Courtney Thompson (Kent, Wash.) rounded out scoring with an ace. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) tallied a team-high 14 digs. Hodge added seven digs and a team-high 31 excellent receptions on 60 of the team’s 92 attempts. Glass provided 38 running sets on 116 total set attempts, while Thompson added 13 running sets on 30 attempts in a reserve role. McCutcheon started Harmotto and Bown at middle blocker, Richards and Hodge at outside hitter, Metcalf at opposite and Davis at setter. Davis is the designated libero for the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round. Barboza subbed into the match midway through the third set and started the fourth set in place of Richards, who came back on to start the fifth set. Tamari Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii) was a serving sub in all five sets, while Thompson was a sub in the final four sets. Haneef-Park came off the bench in the second, fourth and fifth sets.
Megan Hodge attacking against the Brazil defense. (FIVB photo)
Team USA converted 32.4 percent of its attacks with a .165 hitting efficiency (55-27-170), while Brazil converted 32.6 percent of its attacks into points with a .227 hitting efficiency (56-17-172). The U.S. held a slim advantage in blocks at 18-16 and digs at 31-27. Brazil’s Sheilla Castro led all scorers with 22 points and Paula Pequeno added 14 points.
Christa Harmotto all smiles after the victory over Brazil. (FIVB photo)
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