Japan beat USA in the bronze medal match at the FIVB Women’s World Championship 2010 (part 1)
The wonderful action of FIVB Women’s World Championship completed its run from October 29 to November 14 in Japan. The championship was attended by 24 teams from around the world. After a display of spectacular performance and great temperament, the hosts
Japan, defending champions Russia, United States and Brazil settled for the final four competitions of the championship. Russia reaffirmed their grip on the title trophy by defeating Brazil in the final showdown. Likewise, the teams from Japan and United States
clashed in the 3rd position contest.
The home team couldn’t live the dream of holding the goldware but they successfully secured the bronze medal by beating U.S. team in five-setter match. The Yoyogi National Stadium hosted the fabulous match on Sunday, 14th November, 2010 and the
venue was filled with 12,000 local and international fans. Japan posted 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, and 15-8) victory over United States and captured the third spot in overall standing of 2010 FIVB Women’s World Championship
First Set
The visitors registered the first point of the game with a shot from their top-striker Logan Tom. Japan was all up for the big challenge and they attacked with Kaori Inoue who broke the ice for Japan and earned a point. Japan’s libero, Yuko Sano floated
the ball with perfect timing, while Saori Kimura produced unstoppable spikes. On the other side of the net, American striker Desitnee Hooker was equally active. She availed every opportunity and threw speedy spikes in Japan’s half. The U.S. team led the game
with 4-3 and stretched the gap of points by delivering a shot with lightening speed in the next few moments. Yukiko Ebata of Japan was in the receiving position but the ball deflected and U.S. team earned the advantage. The score moved to 6-4.
The American side continued with good pace and added two more points but Japan reacted and didn’t let USA go far. The scoreboard showed America’s 2-point lead at 8-6, which was followed by the first technical timeout of the match. So far both sides demonstrated
a stellar performance and kept the fans entertained for the whole time. The Yoyogi National Stadium experienced a great vibe as thousands of fans stood on their toes and raised happy slogans. The game resumed after the timeout but situation remained exactly
the same. USA remained in dominance with 2-point lead (10-8). Jordan Larson of USA finally made a difference and took the score of 14-11 by adding two points in a row.
It was the jumpstart for USA as they made good progress after that point. Japan was locked at 11 points, while U.S. team moved to 18 points. American hotshots maintained the lead and declared victory in the first set at 25-18.
Second Set
The local crowd didn’t feel good about the loss of first set but they backed up their team by cheering at them and encouraged them to play confidently. The charged up American team followed the same approach and picked a 4-0 lead. Japan’s team tried hard
and waited for the right time to hit them back. In the meanwhile, USA caught up in reception errors, which created perfect opportunity for Japan to take the score of 3-4. U.S. defence expert controlled the situation, while the spikers attacked with more power.
They maintained their lead and denied Japan’s efforts. The score soared up from 7-4 to 8-6 and USA was ahead of Japan. Americans continued with success and widened the gap of points to 11-7.
The home team put a great effort and hit the equalizer at 20-20. USA resisted to Japan’s score but they failed to save the second set. Japan pulled off victory by posting 25-23 and brought the game to an even point.
To be continued...
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