U.S. volleyball tops Germany in 4
By Dave Campbell
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — Though the Olympics pool play format provides plenty of second chances, a second defeat for the U.S. women's volleyball team would have been a big blow.
Associated Press
Instead, the Americans delivered a blow of their own yesterday with an impressive four-game win over Germany after a difficult opening draw against World Cup holder China.
Team USA's Keba Phipps, left, Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (11), Tayyiba Haneef (3) and Heather Bown celebrate after their 3-1 win over Germany. Ah Mow-Santos is a McKinley High and University of Hawai'i alum. Bown also played at UH.
Olympic rookie Tayyiba Haneef (17 kills) and veteran Keba Phipps (11 kills) led the Americans to victory, 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 27-25.
"We definitely came out with a lot more fire," Haneef said.
China, considered the gold-medal favorite, began the preliminary competition Saturday by beating the U.S. squad in four games. Yesterday, the Chinese swept the Dominican Republic — America's next foe in Pool B.
"The last match was very disappointing," coach Toshi Yoshida said. "Today, we tried to be positive, and this came out to be a good asset for us."
Angelina Grun was her usual dominant self for Germany, totaling 20 points — including 16 kills and three aces. The Germans didn't give up after going down 2-0, grabbing the last four points of the third game with some highlight-reel sequences.
On game point, Grun leaped from the right side, wound up and whipped a spike between Phipps and Logan Tom that landed in front of sprawled-out setter Robyn Ah Mow-Santos in the back row.
"Germany was a tough team, just as I had expected," Yoshida said. "It was a scary match."
Germany showed even more scrap in the thrilling fourth game, staving off match point three times and taking a 25-24 lead before the Americans closed with three straight to win. Heather Bown, a University of Hawai'i alum, sandwiched an ace between two powerful spikes by Haneef. Bown, a middle blocker, finished with eight points, including three aces, four kills and a block.
Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, a McKinley High and UH alum, had an ace. Her backup at setter, Lindsey Berg, a Punahou alum, played but didn't score any points.
"They were lucky at the end," said German libero Tanja Hart. "That's why they won the match."
At 25, Haneef — a 6-foot-7 opposite who played at Long Beach State and joined the national team in 2001 — is one of the game's top up-and-coming talents at her position. Yoshida frequently mentions Haneef as the player whose success most closely mirrors the team's.
"We had a lot of problems in blocking at the beginning," Hart said. "We couldn't stop Haneef."
Earlier in Pool A, Brazil swept Kenya, Italy topped Japan in three games and Korea beat Greece in four.
The top four from each six-team pool advance to the quarterfinals.
