Summer Youth Olympics 2010: USA vs. Japan in the semi-final
The U.S. team had a unique volleyball experience at five-day Girls’ Volleyball competitions at Summer Youth Olympics 2010, which recently happened in Singapore. The U.S team entered the competition with bright prospects. They achieved victory in the opening two matches, where they defeated top-seeded Belgium and Egypt.
With two wins in hand, they made it to the semi-finals of Summer Youth Olympics 2010. The American team clashed with Japan in the semi-final match on the third day of the tournament. U.S. was all pumped up to crush the Japanese team. The first set was opened and points gradually advanced with a close gap. American players created a stream of points and advanced to 19, while the competitors chased them with a score of 17 points. U.S. team further tightened the screws and killed Japanese attack attempt with strong blocks.
The score was tied at 19-all and both teams attacked each other to take lead in the game. Katie Mitchell of U.S. collected an important kill, while Japan helped the score with long pushes. Americans took an advantage and achieved the set-point by harsh-hitting coupled with bump passes. U.S. posted 25-20 win in the 1st set and got the upper-hand.
With one set victory, they were able to build an early lead of 8-4 in the second set. Katie and Graff extended American lead to 10-5 by placing kills on the floor. Japan hit back strongly and stole 3 consecutive points from U.S. and points reached 11-9. The struggling Japanese team tried to chase the score but the other side kept on adding more points.
U.S. maintained the lead and claimed (25-23) win, which boosted their morale and they came up with even heavier strike of volleys in 3rd set. It enabled them to build a 10-4 lead in the early minutes. Japan promptly reacted and delivered deceptive shots, which perfectly landed in the rival’s court. They were able to decrease the difference of points and attained 13-14. The U.S. team answered back and added more points. The heated competition took different turns but finally U.S. settled 25-23 victory to finish the set. Japan acknowledged 0-3 defeat in the semi-final match.
The American players created huge impact on the competitor’s side. The maximum points were scored by Elizabeth McMahon and Crystal Graff who led the Americans with 13 points. McMahon added points via 12 kills on 23 attacks and a block. Quite similarly, Crystal Graff made her mark by two blocks and an ace. She also contributed 10 kills on 25 spikes. Katie Mitchell added 10 valuable points using nine kills on 13 attack-attempts and with a help of a block. Samantha Cash, who totally rocked the podium in first two matches, performed amazingly once again and added a match-high five blocks including two kills. Likewise Micha Hancock contributed six points, while Taylor Simpson saved points with excellent blocks.
The U.S. team captain Samantha Cash was overjoyed with the victory and disclosed her feelings after match. She said, “That was a great match. I enjoyed every second, except the points that we lost, of course. It was exciting and intense. We battled until the last point.”
On the Japanese side Chizu Ichikawa added 11 kills on 21 attacks and two aces to score 13 points. Saaya Karaki contributed 11 points with nine kills and two aces. The head coach of Japan regretted their defeat but expressed optimistic views. She said, “Our initial plan to compete against the U.S. was to focus on our serve. We did that quite well. Next time, we will work on our defence and speed.”
The U.S. team advanced to the gold-medal match with Belgium.
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