Updated at 3:49 p.m., Saturday, November 3, 2007
Volleyball: U.S. women upset Cuba in World Cup
Advertiser Staff
HAMAMATSU, Japan — The United States upset Cuba in five sets at the volleyball Women's World Cup behind 18 points from Tayyiba Haneef-Park today.Logan Tom also had a big game, spiking for 14 points as the Americans downed the Cubans 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 15-11 to improve to 2-0. The U.S. downed Peru in three sets Friday.
Cuba dropped to 1-1.
"We started slowly; our rhythm wasn't there and our passing wasn't there," U.S. captain Robyn Ah Mow-Santos said. "But people came off the bench and they were pretty good and ready to play."
Ah Mow, a former McKinley High and University of Hawai'i standout, was used at setter along with Lindsey Berg, a Punahou alum from Honolulu. Heather Bown, another UH alum, had nine kills and two blocks for the United States.
The Nov. 2-17 tournament features 12 teams bidding for three berths at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The men's tournament will also be held in Japan, from Nov. 18-Dec. 2.
In other first-round matches, Poland coasted to a 25-17, 25-17, 25-16 win over Peru to improve to 1-1. Brazil eased past Kenya 25-16, 25-7, 25-14 to pick up its second win in as many games.
In Tokyo, Serbia defeated Thailand 25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 26-24, and Italy cruised to a 25-17, 25-16, 25-17 win over the Dominican Republic.
