USA qualifies for semi-final of NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament – Volleyball news
Under the leadership of head coach Alan Knipe, the US men’s national volleyball team demonstrated a spectacular show of volleyball at the preliminaries of 2012 NORCECA Olympic Qualifiers.
The US finished the opening round with perfect 3-0 record and clawed its way to the semi-finals. USA defeated top rival Mexico in the last match of pool-play on Wednesday. They posted 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-14) victory over Mexico and reserved a berth in
the semis. The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach California hosted the match, while a large number of local fans attended the action-packed thriller.
Clay Stanley of the US team stood out with match-high 14 points. The duo of Matt Anderson and Reid Priddy also played big role in American victory. They added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
On Mexico’s side, Carlos Guerra and Gerardo Contreras played well. They registered 12 and 9 points, in the failing effort.
The opening set of the match was full of action. Mexico came out firing with powerful serves and long cross court shots. The hosts were equipped with necessary tools and tricks of the game but still faced difficulty to deal with Mexican speed bombs. USA
used the competitive edge of playing at home and secured first set with narrow lead of two points, 25-23.
First-set win set a clear direction for American team. The home players staged a terrific play and extended their lead to 2-0 by winning another set in row, 25-19.
Mexico could not sustain the pressure in third set and dropped the decision after scoring only 14 points.
Mexican coach Jorge Miguel Azair regretted the loss of important match but he congratulated US team for their convincing win. Speaking of the match, he said, “The first set I think we played very well, served well and we were able to withstand their service
pressure. The truth is that physically they are superior to us, but we will forget that and tomorrow is a new opportunity, though not as difficult and I think we have a good chance and we will prepare for that.”
Likewise, the American Head Coach Alan Knipe praised the great effort to Mexican players. He admitted that they successfully dragged his team under pressure in the first set. However, US team controlled the action by making fewer errors and with consistent
performance.
Meanwhile, the winning captain Clay Stanley had his say about the match. He said, “My opinion of this match, Mexico, they did a great job. They are really scrappy and made a lot of great plays. We made a lot of little plays in the beginning that kept the
game close especially in the first set with over passes and free balls.”
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