BEIJING — Playing without its head coach and embroiled in emotion, the U.S. men's volleyball team edged Venezuela in its Olympic opener Sunday.

Head coach Hugh McCutcheon was not at the opener, and it's unclear whether he will be back for any of the squad's games. His father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was killed by a knife-wielding Chinese assailant Saturday, and his mother-in-law, Barbara Bachman, was severely injured in the attack. She underwent eight hours of surgery Saturday and is listed in critical but stable condition at a Beijing hospital.

The Bachmans' daughter Elisabeth — a 2004 Olympian for the U.S. women's volleyball team — was with her parents at the time of the attack at the tourist attraction called the Drum Tower but was not injured. She and her husband have been at the hospital most of the time since.

After the attack, the assailant committed suicide by jumping off the Drum Tower.

"We may see him," U.S. team captain Thomas Hoff said of McCutcheon. "We may not. He's got priorities and needs to take care of those things."

McCutcheon hurriedly left a team practice Saturday afternoon (Beijing time) when he got a call about the stabbings. The team has not seen him since. They were told about the incident by U.S. Olympic Committee officials a few hours later.

"Obviously hearing the news was tragic, stunning — words can't describe it," Hoff said.

McCutcheon did talk to his team via conference call Saturday night. Interim head coach Ron Larsen described that conversation as McCutcheon saying: "You know what? I've got this happening here right now. But we need to complete what we started out here."

The Bachmans, from Minnesota, were longtime U.S. volleyball supporters and members of both the men's and women's volleyball teams here knew them relatively well. When the men's team was told of the attack, player Lloy Ball said: "Our knee-jerk reaction was we were angry, we were upset, and we wanted to talk to our friends and family."

The U.S. team huddled for a moment of silence before playing Venezuela. The U.S. team won the first two sets, lost the next two and then squeaked out the win, 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10. It next plays Tuesday (Beijing time) against Italy.

Later, the U.S. men's basketball team plays in one of the most-hlighly anticipated international matchups in years, when it faces host China and Houston Rockets star Yao Ming,

Also Sunday:

— The U.S. men's water polo team opened its games with an 8-4 victory over host China at the Yingdong Natatorium. Tony Azevedo scored five times for the Americans.

— Kelci Bryant and Ariel Rittenhouse placed fourth in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard. China's Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia won the gold with a score of 343.50.