Posted at 6:50 a.m., Sunday, November 4, 2007
Volleyball: U.S. women stop Poland in World Cup
Advertiser Staff
HAMAMATSU, Japan — The United States volleyball team remained undefeated after the first round of the Women's World Cup, getting 13 points from Tayyiba Haneef-Park in a four-game victory over Poland today.Logan Tom and Ogonna Nnamani added 12 points each, and Nnamani led the way with 12 kills in the 25-21, 12-25, 27-25, 25-17 win that gave the Americans a 3-0 record heading into a second-round match against winless Kenya.
Former University of Hawai'i standout Heather Bown had 10 kills for the United States. Setters Lindsay Berg (Punahou alum) and Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (McKinley) each had an ace. Berg had 29 assists, while Ah Mow-Santos added seven.
"Poland is a great team, they serve very tough and have great defense," U.S. coach Lang Ping said. "But our team made a good adjustment, we played well as a team and concentrated well."
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, Brazil also improved to 3-0 with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-11 win over Cuba, which fell to 1-2.
Peru got its first win by beating Kenya 25-16, 25-9, 25-19.
In Tokyo, Italy downed South Korea 25-15, 25-19, 25-22 to move to 3-0 and keep the Koreans winless, and the Dominican Republic picked up its first win with a 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 17-15 victory over Thailand.
