Japan fails to cope with the hard-hitting of USA in final round of FIVB Grand Prix
Japan and USA opened the Final Round of the 2011 FIVB Grand Prix on Wednesday, August 24. The most influential final round of the women’s premier international is scheduled to complete its run from August 24 to 28 in Chinese city of Macau. A total of 8 teams
clawed their way to the final round and officially opened the round on Wednesday in the classification of two groups. Japan and USA have been placed in the Pool B along Brazil and Italy. In the opening match, USA came up with great game plan and defeated Japanese
squad in straight sets. They posted 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, and 25-23) on board and claimed the win.
US team was better in the attack since the very start of the match. American players were uniquely positioned in the court and jumped on every little opportunity to score points. The excellent coverage at the net restricted Japan to a low score. Destinee
Hooker and Logan Tom of USA formed a great combination and added quick points. Meanwhile, Jordan Larson displayed tight floor defence which saved many crucial points for America. Japan relied on Saori Kimura who delivered good attacks but the opponents took
away the first set by posting 25-22.
After dropping the opening set, Japan struggled to contain the strong attacks. They hit the ball from different angles but could not set-up their offense properly. Yoshie Takeshita, the Japanese Setter, confused the American defence via creative play. She
put up good effort and did her part in the game. However, Americans kept the operations well under hand and covered the length of second set with success. They extended their lead to 2-0 by winning second set 25-17.
Third set was a sort of heated competition as both sides staged tactful game. Japan struggled to seize their chances in third set, while Americans showed no mercy and hit classical shots. They defeated Japan in the third set with narrow gap of two points
25-23. That was how the Americans earned the status of triumphant team in the match.
Hugh McCutcheon, the American Coach was indeed happy about the way his players pulled off success against Japan. He appreciated the good energy of his team. Talking of the success in the match, he stated: “In terms of the service line, we were strong so
that was good. Japan is always a challenging opponent because of the speed in which they play and the way they battle which is the case today so they are a good team and we are very happy to win over such a very strong opponent.”
U.S. Captain Girl, Jennifer Tamas, disclosed her thought after the match. She said: “This is a very well played match by both teams. We knew that playing against a team with such fast offense that it was important to serve aggressively and I think that we
did a good job on that today. We are happy with the start and we are happy with this one.”
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