University of Minnesota Athletics
USA Olympic Women's Volleyball Team Advances to Quarterfinals
8/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The United States finished fourth in Pool B with a record of 2-3 and erased memories of two-straight five-set losses in preliminary play that put its hopes of advancing to the medal round in jeopardy.
Team USA will now play Brazil in the tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday, Aug. 24 at 9:30 p.m. (Athens time). It will be a rematch of the bronze medal match from the 2000 Olympic Games won by Brazil in three sets (25-18,25-22, 25-21).
Trailing 13-10 in the first set, the Americans put together a 10-4 run and forced the Cubans to use both of their timeouts, first at 13- all and again down 20-17. Cuba regrouped and tied the match at 20- all before Tayyiba Haneef took over. Team USA took a 22-20 lead on a Haneef kill and a service ace from Keba Phipps. Cuba tied the score with a kill and ace of its own, but could only watch as Haneef blasted two kills and Logan Tom closed out the set by killing one of three Cuban free-balls of USA serves in the first stanza.
The Americans owned the second set, racing to an 8-1 lead on four kills by Heather Bown, a block by Tom, a kill by Haneef and a pair of Cuban errors. Cuba could get no closer than five points the rest of the way as the inspired Americans closed out the set with two kills from Nancy Metcalf, an ace from Tom and another free-ball kill by Phipps.
Cuba managed to play better in the third set but the United States maintained its fire and intensity after snapping a 4-4 tie and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the match.
Berg played in two games and had a service for the United States in the match.
Next up for Team USA is Brazil, which lost just two sets to Italy en route to finishing first in Pool A with a perfect 5-0 record.
