The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, assisted by UC Irvine head coach, Paula Weishoff, dominated Algeria 25-12, 25-12, 25-9 with a 16-3 block advantage Saturday evening to move to 6-1 at the FIVB World Cup at Okayama, Japan.
Team USA has earned 18 World Cup standings points and remains in second place behind undefeated and defending 2007 World Cup champion Italy (7-0, 20 points), which defeated top-ranked Brazil (5-2, 12 points) 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 earlier today at Sapporo. The FIVB World Cup uses a round-robin format resulting in 11 matches over a 15-day period. The three teams reaching the World Cup medal podium on Nov. 18 will earn berths into the 2012 Olympic Games. For the full FIVB World Cup schedule and tournament details, visit the U.S. Women's tournament event page at usavolleyball.org/events/8883.
"I thought the team's performance tonight was strong," U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. "We got to play a lot of players and I thought in a few key phases of the game we did a nice job. So, happy with the win and now focusing on the match tomorrow with the Dominican Republic, who we know is a strong team and will provide us with a good match."
After closing out the third round on Nov. 13 versus Dominican Republic at 6:20 p.m. local time (1:20 a.m. Pacific Time), the U.S. travels to Tokyo for the fourth and final round. The Americans will face China on Nov. 16 at 11 a.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific Time on Nov. 15), Italy on Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. local time (10 p.m. Pacific Time on Nov. 16) and host Japan on Nov. 18 at 6:20 p.m. local time (1:20 a.m. Pacific Time).
The U.S. bolted to a 9-3 advantage in the opening set and never allowed Algeria to score on its serve in the 25-12 victory. After Algeria scored the first two points of the second set, the Americans scored eight of the next nine points and used nine blocks to form a 25-12 victory. Team USA picked up an early 5-1 lead in the third set and closed out the frame and match with the final nine points for a 25-9 victory.
The U.S. had seven players score at least five points in the match. Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) was selected the match's most impressive player as she scored nine kills on 10 errorless attacks, two aces and a block with just one set start. Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) added 12 points with five blocks, four aces and three kills. Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.) contributed five kills on 10 errorless swings and four blocks for nine points. Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) chipped in all seven of her points on kills via 14 attacks.
Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) provided four kills on four attacks, one block and one ace for six points in just the first set of action. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) charted three blocks, two kills and an ace for six points. Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) scored three kills on four swings and two blocks for five points. Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.) rounded out the scoring with a kill.
"I can't be disappointed," Tom said. "I think we're in a good spot. We had some ups and downs, but going into these last few matches I think we have good momentum."
The U.S. converted 58.6 percent of its attacks with a .552 hitting efficiency (34-2-58). Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) notched nine assists, while Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) added eight assists.
For the complete press release, visit usavolleyball.org/news/article/45430.
