U.S. volleyball makes semis

By Steve Rivera
Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece — Once Sotirios Pantaleon hit out 2 hours and 16 minutes into the Olympic men's volleyball match between Greece and the United States yesterday, Clay Stanley finally could exhale.

Stanley

It was a match heavy in heat and pressure as the Greek fans booed the United States from start to finish.

"This is a huge load off our shoulders,'' said Stanley, a Kaiser High graduate and former University of Hawai'i player. "You can't take this away from us.''

The Americans took it away from the Greeks, fighting off match point and coming together for an epic fourth-game rally from a 20-12 deficit. Stanley was huge early, blasting four straight aces in Game 1 to pull the United States to a 16-11 advantage.

"Stanley got one set on his own," Greek coach Stylianos Prosalikas said. "We tried to take them by surprise by using a new setter they had never seen before. At the end, we did not have any more ammunition to use, no resources. I do not know what else we could have done."

Clay, who leads the Games in serving and is seventh in points scored, has helped the United States into the semifinals against top-ranked Brazil tomorrow. Team USA didn't win a match at the last Olympics and has not captured a medal since 1992.

Team USA's Clayton Stanley, left, spikes the ball during a quarterfinal matchup against Greece. The Americans won in five. Steve Levin • Gannett News Service

It took a remarkable effort to do it. Team USA rallied for six consecutive points in the fourth game, and eventually tied it at 21 on Reid Priddy's block.

"When you're down like that most times you are dead in the water,'' said Ball, who told his coach to stick with Suxho in the fifth game because the chemistry seemed right. "I think the Greeks thought they had it in the bag. They kind of let down. The combination of us stepping up and them coming down made for a hell of a match.''

Greece's Vasileios Kournetas was more descriptive.

"We committed suicide today,'' he said. "When you are 20-12 ahead of the U.S. in the fourth set, you win it and you give a happy end to the match.''

Team USA scored the final three points to send it to a fifth game.

"I wish I could describe the feeling after being down 20-12,'' Stanley said. "Unbelievable.''

Team USA also rallied in the fifth after falling behind 12-9. Ball came back to serve three points and tie it. Greece took a 14-13 lead before the Americans rallied again, outscoring Greece 4-1 in the final moments.

Stanley finished with 10 kills, five aces and the Greeks' respect.

"I really do not have any words to say... we lost a great victory today," said Greek captain Arios Gkiourdas. "Mainly, we did not play well in the fourth set. ... I would like to congratulate the team of the USA. They wanted it, fought for it and got it."

Athens2004.com and usavolleyball.org contributed to this report.

KAYAKING

All Hawai'i teams eliminated at Games

Advertiser Staff and News Services

All three boats with Hawai'i paddlers are out of the Olympics.

Maui's Lauren Spalding and Kailua's Kathy Colin finished seventh in 1:46.79 and were eliminated in the K-2 500 semifinals this morning. Bulgaria's Delyana Dacheva and Bonka Pindzheva won the race in 1:44.25 to lead the top three finishers into the finals.

Yesterday morning, Kailua's Andy Bussey and partner Jeff Smoke finished the men's K-2 1,000-meter event in 3:16.341 — their best by three seconds, but missed advancing to the finals.

The team had only competed at one other race together, finishing ninth at the World Cup in Germany earlier this year.

"In Germany, we had better results, but the competition wasn't as strong as the Olympics. I'm not disappointed at all with these results," said Bussey, 25. "Next year, we expect to be in the top nine at World Championships and be medal contenders for Beijing. With time and more training, we can be one of the top boats in the world."

Also yesterday, Spalding and Colin were not as upbeat about their fourth-place 1:35.87 in the K-4 500 semifinal, which kept them from advancing.

"This wasn't a possible scenario for us," said Colin, competing in her second Olympics. "I knew we could do it. Nothing really went wrong for us out there, but I guess this just wasn't our day.

"It was a darn close race, and I believe it was a good race. I know everyone in my boat gave 110 percent and should be happy with how much we accomplished this year, coming from nowhere. But it still hurts."

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

New Zealand dumped again by Australia

Advertiser News Services

New Zealand's first Olympic basketball date with Oceania neighbor Australia turned out just like the teams' previous 22 games last night in the women's basketball quarterfinals.

WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson had 28 points and nine rebounds to lead Australia to a 94-55 victory. Its quest for a first gold medal continues against Brazil.

New Zealand (2-4), a surprising quarterfinalist in its second Olympics, will play Greece for seventh place tomorrow. It will almost certainly be the final international game for former University of Hawai'i all-conference guard Tania (Brunton) Tupu.

Tupu, 30, scored six points against Australia, and added three rebounds and three steals.

The Aussies scored the first 10 points and pulled ahead 39-18 midway through the second quarter. New Zealand needed three consecutive 3-pointers — two by Tupu — to cut the deficit to 45-31. It would get no closer as New Zealand had no answer for the 6-foot-5 Jackson.

The game was a reunion for New Zealand coach Tom Maher and the Australian program he headed for eight years, including the last two Olympics. He left after the Sydney Games to become the first foreign coach in the WNBA.

"Overall I am happy with the final result," Maher said. "We had great anticipation for the game, but perhaps we're just not in Australia's league."

Athens2004.com contributed to this report.