1 2 3 4 5 USA 25 25 23 25 GER 17 15 25 11 U.S. Women Hold Back Germany in World Grand Prix Opener SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (June 8, 2012) - The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team opened its 2012 season with a 25-17, 25-15, 23-25, 25-11 victory over Germany on June 8 in a FIVB World Grand Prix Pool B match at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Team USA before the start of the opening match of the FIVB World Grand Prix. (FIVB photo)
After trailing 10-8 early in the opening set that included three Germany aces, the U.S. caught fire with a 12-3 scoring run to establish a 20-13 advantage en route to a 25-17 set victory that included seven blocks. Team USA scorched to a 7-1 lead in the second set and widened the lead to 11-3 before cruising to a 25-15 victory. Germany rolled to a 9-0 lead in the third set, but the U.S. made it very interesting down the stretch by closing to within one at 24-23 with a 13-4 scoring run before falling 25-23. Team USA broke a 6-all tie in the fourth set with a 16-3 scoring run in closing out the match with a 25-11 victory. “We played very consistent and I am really happy the way we reacted in the third set when we almost leveled the score,” U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “We executed well and we not playing our best volleyball. I think we will reach our peak in July and August.”
Foluke Akinradewo passes against Germany. (FIVB photo)
Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) led the U.S. and all scorers with 20 points via 14 kills, five blocks and an ace. Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) chipped in 16 points with nine kills on 18 errorless attacks, four blocks and three aces. Christa Harmotto (Hopewell Township, Pa.) charted seven kills on 12 attacks, five blocks and two aces for 14 points. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) recorded 13 points on 10 kills, two blocks and an ace. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) chipped in four kills and four blocks for eight points. Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) and Tama Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii) rounded out the scoring with a kill and ace, respectively. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) contributed team highs of 12 digs and 15 excellent service receptions on 25 attempts. Tom added seven digs, while Larson contributed eight excellent service receptions. Berg provided 12 running sets on a total of 98 set attempts.
Logan Tom attacks around Germany’s block.
“It is good to play after one month only training,” said Berg, the U.S. captain. “After taking the first two sets we were able to come back strong in the third set and finished with a victory.” McCutcheon started Tom and Larson at outside hitter, Akinradewo and Harmotto at middle blocker, Hooker at opposite and Berg at setter. Davis was the libero for the match. Miyashiro was a serving in the first three sets, while Hodge was a sub in the third set. The U.S. produced a 20-11 advantage in blocks and 32-24 margin in digs as both teams served eight aces. Team USA held a 45-35 advantage in kills and benefited from 25 Germany errors. Meanwhile, the Americans limited their errors to 14 in the match. Overall, the U.S. converted 33.6 percent of its attacks into points with a .231 hitting efficiency (45-14-134). Germany converted 23.8 percent of its attacks with a .014 hitting efficiency (35-33-147). Maren Brinker paced Germany with 14 points, while Margareta Kozuch added 13 points. Nicole Davis passes with Jordan Larson (middle) and Logan Tom eying the ball’s direction. (FIVB photo)
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