Posted at 6:35 p.m., Sunday, July 15, 2007
Volleyball: U.S. men beat Poland to finish third
Advertiser Staff
The U.S. men's national volleyball team defeated Poland, 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, today to place third in the FIVB World League at Katowice, Poland.Brazil beat Russia, 18-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-22, in the championship match to win its fifth straight World League title.
Reid Priddy scored 21 points to lead the U.S. over Poland. Reserve opposite Clay Stanley, a Kaiser High and University of Hawai'i alum, had one point.
Stanley scored five points on Saturday when the U.S. fell to Russia, 25-22, 17-25, 25-13, 25-21, in the semifinals. Priddy again led the team with 18 points on 16 kills and two blocks.
The Americans, who finished the World League with a 12-4 record, equaled their best showing since also placing third in 1992.
"In the beginning of the final round we talked about playing every match with the most effort and energy we can," said U.S. team captain Tom Hoff. "We were not happy with that when we analyzed our last two games. Today, we told ourselves in the changing room, that we give everything in this match, no matter whether we win or lose and it all turned out very well."
