Italy stops U.S. to win world volleyball

Associated Press

BERLIN — Italy defeated the United States in five games yesterday to capture its first women's world championship volleyball title.

Heather Bown of the United States smashes the ball toward Italy's Francesca Piccicini during the final. Associated Press

15-11, handing the United States its first loss of the tournament. Italy finished fifth at the last worlds in 1998.

"It's difficult to believe we are the world champions, but I think we deserved it," Italian coach Marco Bonitta said. "The players were scared of all the top teams at the tournament here. But with power and increasing self-confidence we made it to the final."

The United States, which had won its first 10 matches, also was seeking its first world title. The U.S. team was forced to play the final without its injured top scorer Prikeba Phipps, who was replaced by captain Tara Cross-Battle.

Heather Bown, a former University of Hawai'i All-American, scored 15 points on 10 kills, four blocks and one ace for the United States.

The U.S. team hadn't reached the final of a major international tournament since losing the Gold Medal match to China in the 1984 Olympics. The Americans did win the World Grand Prix in 2001.

Down two games to one, U.S. coach Toshiaki Yoshida gave his team a motivational speech between sessions. It paid off as the Americans took a 23-22 lead and forced a fifth game when Tayyiba Haneef had a blistering smash and an Italian shot went wide.

The final game remained tight with no more than a one-point difference between the two teams until Italy scored three points in a row to go ahead 12-9.