Punch of Fury: USA vs. Belgium at Youth Olympics 2010
The teams from United States and Belgium staged the longest match of U-18 Girls Volleyball Tournament at Summer Youth Olympics 2010. It was an absolute punch of volleyball fury where the audience moved back and forth in their seats. The points’ shift was like a pendulum movement, the variation of a single point brought a touching sensation in the game.
The wild competition continued for five sets where the final victory graced American team as a result of 3-2 on the mark. USA came to blow Belgium in the 4th match of YOG Girls Volleyball competition at the weekend. Belgium opened the Pool B matches by declaring a 3-0 win over Egypt on Saturday. On the next day, it saw U.S.A. standing in the court with a steady gesture. The top-seeded Belgium also seemed confident to give USA a hard time in the game.
U.S. team wrapped up success in the first set after claiming 25-22 victory over competitive Belgian crew. The game came to a level point in the second round when Belgium returned in the game and made impressive come-back. They won the second set and pushed the points’ counter to 25-15. Belgium won the set with a bigger margin than U.S. in the previous set.
U.S. team ignited the fire again and thrashed 25-20 points’ win on the rival side in third set. The American team enjoyed the moments of triumph by taking a lead of 2-0 but Belgium promptly changed the scenario. The wonderful Belgian girls put the Americans in an agitation by bouncing back in the game. They shattered USA’s lead and matched the game-score after winning fourth-set which ended at 25-18.
The game headed into the longest run as all previous volleyball matches of Pool A and Pool B concluded results in smooth three sets. On contrary, the match between Belgium and USA entered the fifth critical set. It turned into a “do or die” situation for both teams. Belgium had already one win in hand, as they defeated Egypt in the inaugural match of the tournament. The U.S. Team, on the other hand, was more urged to name a victory in YOG.
The American players head started the fifth-round with notable serves. They killed the Belgian attack attempts with remarkable blocks from Taylor Simpson. A couple of camp-fire points where the ball landed in centre of two players benefitted U.S. team and they paved their way to the conquest of fifth-set.
U.S. Team won the match after a tiring battle with Belgium. Samantha Cash and Elizabeth McMahon were in the limelight for their outstanding performance. Cash and McMahon contributed 13 important points for team’s win. The powerful nine kills and two aces of Samantha Cash were worth-watching while McMahon grabbed attention for her 12 kills on 34 attacks in a scoring effort.
Moreover, Taylor Simpson incorporated nine kills on 29 swings and provided enough damage to Belgian side with two blocks and one ace for 12 points. Quite similarly 11 points were added by Crystal Graff while Lauren Teknipp and Katie Mitchell marked 7 and 6 points respectively.
In Belgium’s squad Lotte Penders topped the points run with a maximum of 20 points which included 16 kills on 35 attacks. In addition, she contributed three aces and a block as part of her winning effort. Besides, Laura Heyman equally played her role by adding 18 points with 13 kills, 3 blocks and two point-scoring aces.
The head coach of U.S. volleyball team commented about team’s performance and congratulated the volleyball stars. She said, “We got stronger as the match went on. We had some setbacks in the two and four, but the team’s effort was very good.”
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