Defending Champion USA battles out tough victory against Serbia in 1st match
Defending Champions U.S. team defeated Serbia in a five set thriller on Friday, August 5, in what was the first match of Pool D teams at the 2011 FIVB Grand Prix. Chinese Town Luohe hosted the match. The two teams met at the Luohe Sports Centre, where a
good number of local and international volleyball fans were present to witness the performance. USA put up great effort and won the match by posting 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, and 15-10) victory over Serbia.
U.S. made a strong opening in the match by delivering powerful serves. They put away early point on the board but Serbian didn’t let them go far and remained close. American Heather Bown and Akinradewo Foluke came strong on opponents and spiked the ball
hard. Likewise, U.S. Setter Alisha Glass perfectly complimented them and floated the ball with great timing. As a result, U.S. led the score for better time and edged out Serbia in the first set of the match. Serbs were only three points behind as they lost
the opening set.
American Team continued with same passion and zeal in second set. After winning the first set, they were in better position to keep the operations well under hand. However, Serbia was all up for revenge in second set. They built a lead of 4-0 in the early
few minutes. Serbs played well in second set but couldn’t avoid the chances of defeat anyway. U.S. side added another set victory to their tally and earned strong spot in the game.
Girls around U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon worked out good progress in first two set but couldn’t keep the same energy in the 3rd and 4th set. Serbia offered solid defence to American side and pushed them behind. Serbs managed to create the deadlock of
2-2 by winning two straight sets.
Game entered the 15-ponit golden set, which was the real test for both teams. U.S. proved to be better in the final set and clinched success in a tiring match of 5 sets.
Serbian was satisfied with match results. He believed that USA most deserved to win the match. However, he praised both sides for exhibiting good tactics. He stated: “First of all, congratulations to USA. USA is a strong team; I am satisfied with the result.
We played unstable in the match, but we did better in the following two sets. We hope we do better in the next game.
The Captain girl of Serbia talked about her team’s failure. She said they couldn’t give out up to mark performance in the first two sets, which caused them trouble later on. Nonetheless, she hoped they will cover the deficit in the next match again China.
U.S. captain was overjoyed after dominating one of the tough teams of tournament. She commented: “Serbia is a good team. It is a tough game with Serbia. I hope this victory goes on.” American coach Hugh McCutcheon had similar views about Serbian team. Anyhow,
he was glad about his side’s victory. He also hoped that U.S. team will continue making more progress in the upcoming matches.
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