1 2 3 4 5 USA 25 31 18 19 15 CHN 21 29 25 25 10 U.S. Women Hold Off China in Five-Set Thriller TOKYO, Japan (Nov. 16, 2011) - Des nee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) scored a career-high 37 points as the U.S. Women’s Na onal Volleyball Team held off China 25-21, 31-29, 18-25, 19-25, 15-10 victory on Wednesday morning in Tokyo during the FIVB World Cup final round being held at Yoyogi Na onal Stadium. The U.S. Women grabbed a 12-7 lead in the opening set and reached a sixpoint edge at 20-14 before holding on for a 25-21 victory. Team USA trailed 17-14 in the second set and came back to win 31-29 on its third set-point opportunity a er saving Chinese set points. China used a 5-1 scoring run to take a 14-8 lead in the third set en route to claiming a 25-18 victory. In the fourth set, China scored six unanswered points to assume an 18-13 lead and posted a 25-19 victory. In the ebreaker, Hooker scored three points – two kills and a block – in a 4-0 scoring run breaking a 7-all e as Team USA finished out the set with a 15-10 victory.
Danielle Sco -Arruda (2), Jordan Larson (11) and Megan Hodge (18) march into the arena with China. (Photo courtesy FIVB)
“I’m extremely proud of our team today,” U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. “China is playing good volleyball. Their style is different than most teams here. We started well and showed poise in the second set coming from behind and again in the fi h set. “Can we play be er? Yes. It’s easy to play at your best, but it’s finding a way to win when not at our best that ma ers.” Hooker led all scorers with 37 points on a match-high 34 a acks and 62 a acks, two blocks and one ace. Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) added 16 points on 11 kills via 16 swings, three blocks and a team-high two aces. Foluke Akinradewo (Planta on, Fla.) totaled 15 points on 13 kills and 23 a acks, one block and one ace. Among other U.S. scorers, Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) finished with 12 points on eight a acks, three blocks and one ace. Outside hi er Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) tallied nine points on seven a acks, one block and one ace. Se er Lindsey Berg (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored one point with a se er dump.
Des nee Hooker (19) and Foluke Akinradewo (right) force the China a ack to be altered to an awai ng Jordan Larson (le ). (Photo courtesy FIVB)
Berg was credited with 53 assists helping the U.S. to a 49.3 kill percent and .380 a ack efficiency (74-17-150). Meanwhile, China converted just 45.0 percent of its a acks with a .363 hi ng efficiency. U.S. libero Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) was named the match’s most impressive player with 12 excellent recep ons and nine digs. Larson led in digs with 11 while Tom and Davis both had nine. Tom led in excellent recep ons with 26. “Today is all that ma ered for us,” said Berg, who is the U.S. team captain. “When we went on the court, we didn’t want to think about our previous seven wins or our future games, just today.”
Nicole Davis slides in for a dig. (Photo courtesy FIVB)
McCutcheon started Berg at se er, Tom and Larson at outside hi er, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker and Hooker at opposite. Davis was the designated libero for the match. Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.) was a sub in the second, third and fi h sets. Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) subbed into the match in the second and third sets, while Danielle Sco Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) entered of the bench in the fourth and fi h sets. The United States out-a acked China 74-72 while holding advantages in blocks (10-8) and aces (6-3). China held a 50-40 margin in digs. China was led by Ruoqi Hui, who finished with 25 points on 22 kills, one block and two aces. “We have managed to play five sets with one of the best teams, and for us we have learned a lot,” China Head Coach Yu Juemin said. “Today we had a great game with quick offense and good serve receive. We’d like to con nue this in the next two.”
The U.S. Women celebrate a hard-fought, five-set win over China to improve to 8-1 in the FIVB World Cup. (Photo courtesy FIVB)
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