USA defeats Dominican Republic and climbs up the top slot in Pool B – Volleyball news
Nothing less was expected from the in-form two-time defending champions and world No. 1 American women’s national volleyball team, which it crossed its ways with Dominican Republic on Sunday in Santo Domingo.
The Dominicans had the advantage of the playing at home but the Americans thrashed their pride in front of their local fans. The visiting US team demonstrated a stellar feat and held off Dominican Republic for 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-15) victory. Team USA
tallied third straight victory in Pool B of the 2012 FIVB Grand Prix and moved to the top on ranking chart. Currently, US team stands with 3-0 record and has a total of nine points.
Scoring machine Destinee Hooker played an instrumental role in US team’s success. She added 15 spikes, one block, and one serve ace, which helped her to take the top-scorer’s position with mathc-high 17 points. She was followed by equally talented Jordan
Larson, who contributed 12 points.
For Dominican Republic, Bethania De la Cruz emerged as the top-scorer with team-high15 points. She was the only home player with double-digit scores in the match.
The visiting team did not show any sign of intimidation by the strange audience but played in its usual style. With the help of Hooker’s powerful serves and Tom’s unstoppable hits, USA picked up an early lead in the opening stanza. Dominican Republic seemed
in trouble with the early onslaught from the Americans. The hosts failed to put up any resistance, while US team continued with success. Strong offence and solid defence allowed Hugh McCutcheon’s team to secure first set, 25-18.
The next set unfolded the similar story. Dominican Republic could not come out of blues whereas US musketeers continued with their winning ways. De La Cruz of Dominican Republic struggled to put her team on track but the strong opponents did not allow the
hosts to come up. Second set ended at 25-19 and USA improved to 2-0 in the match.
US team carried the momentum in the third set and totally dominated the scene. The home team could only score 15 points, while visitors hit the mark with set points at 25.
The winning American coach Hugh McCutcheon expressed delight about his team’s victory. He stated, “I am glad with our performance. Congratulations to Dominican Republic for their excellent organization and for the fan support. We had a good service line
today and we were able to attack with effectiveness. USA is satisfied with the job done by this group.”
On the other hand, Dominican Republic’s head coach Marcos Kwiek commented, “We improved from yesterday and today we had our best defensive day. It was a great experience and we have learned a lot from USA.”
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