Can US be three times FIVB Women World Grand Prix and Olympics champion?
The United States National Women’s volleyball team currently enjoys the first position in the FIVB World Grand Prix that is currently being staged in many countries of the world. The US team has been able to live up to the label of defending champions that have been carrying in the tournament as the team has not yet lost a match in the competition. In the event that the US squad bags the title of the tournament this time around as well, it will be the third straight time that the US team would have won the championship.
The US team currently is on a winning streak shown by a record of six wins and no loss so far. The last match in the tournament that the US played was against the Olympic champions, Brazil. The US was playing against the raised odds of being in the home town of their rivals as the match was being held in Sao Bernardo, Brazil. US managed to hand out a defeat to their opponents by 3-1 with the score board showing the following final set scores: 20-25, 25-18, 25-18 and 25-23.
The Brazilian coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes acknowledged the superiority of the US squad by giving the following statement, “The United States is the best team in the world now and this match is an important lesson for us on the way to London.”
With the second preliminary weekend of the World Grand Prix at its close, the US squad are all set to head to Thailand to face competitive teams. The first match that the US will be playing is scheduled to be against Serbia on June 21, 2012 while the second one is with Argentina. The last match of the weekend will be against the home team.
The toughest of these matches will be the last one as the Thailand squad holds the fourth position in the tournament as it has gathered 14 points so far. On the other hand, Argentina has had no luck with a record of 0-6 and has stayed at the 15th position with no points. The Serbians have done themselves some justice as they have earned 8 points with a record of 2-4 and enjoy the 10th place in the tournament.
The head coach of the US team, Hugh McCutcheon, shared his views by making the following comments on his team’s performance in the tournament up till now, "We were very happy with our performance in the first two weeks of this competition and we're looking forward to our matches this weekend."
The player that has been most valuable to the US squad is Destinee Hooker as she has come across as a formidable player to any opposing team. Hooker has managed to tally the highest number of points in the tournament among all the teams by scoring 101 points.
The final goal of the US team is not the title of the World Grand Prix as they are eyeing the London 2012 Olympic Games gold medal. Judging by the performance they have been able to put up in the tournament so far, the US squad seems all set to put their hands on what will be the first ever Olympics gold medal of the program. Whether the US squad would be able to maintain its winning streak throughout the coming weekend is yet to be seen.
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