The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hooker, USA Volleyball down Japan to open final round
08.24.2011 | Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2011
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team defeated Japan 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 with an 8-0 ace advantage as both teams opened up Pool B of the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round Wednesday morning in Macau. Texas ex Destinee Hooker recorded a match-high 19 points on 15 kills in the sweep of Japan.
The U.S., ranked second in the FIVB world ranking and defending FIVB World Grand Prix champions in the premier annual international volleyball tournament, faces Italy on Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. local time (8 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 24). Team USA concludes Final Round pool play versus top-ranked Brazil on Aug. 26 at 1:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 25).
To watch the USA versus Japan Final Round match, tune into Universal Sports' video stream by clicking here. During the second weekend of the FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round, the U.S. defeated Japan 25-22, 25-14, 25-18 on Aug. 13 in Komaki, Japan.
Team USA opened up an early 9-4 lead in the first set and led by as many as seven points at 17-10 before ending with a 25-22 victory. The Americans used a 6-1 scoring run to assume a 10-6 edge in the second set and pushed forward to a 25-17 victory thanks to six aces in the set. The U.S. went into the second technical timeout of the third set leading 16-11, but Japan roared back to close to one at 16-15 forcing the Americans to rebuild their lead to 20-16 and held on for a 25-23 victory after the Japanese saved three match points.
"I like the way the USA team played today," U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) said. "We played with good energy and we were strong from the service line. Japan is always a challenging opponent with the speed at which they play, and we knew Japan would fight to the very end, and certainly it was the case today. They are a good team and we are happy to start with a win against strong opponent."
Hooker scored a match-high 19 points with 16 kills on 29 attacks with only two errors, two blocks and an ace. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) chipped in five kills on 19 attacks, four blocks and four aces for 13 points. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) provided eight kills and a block for nine points. Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) contributed five kills and two aces for seven points, while Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) totaled five points with three kills, an ace and a block. Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) rounded out the scoring with a kill.
Berg provided 22 assists on 76 total set attempts leading to a 40.0 kill percent and .295 hitting efficiency as the team committed just 10 attack errors. Meanwhile, Japan converted 37.7 percent of its attack attempts for points with a .274 hitting efficiency.
Larson contributed a team-high 13 excellent service receptions on 34 attempts, while Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) picked up a team-high four digs. Tom chipped in eight excellent receptions on 15 attempts.
McCutcheon started Tom and Larson at outside hitter, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker, Hooker at opposite and Berg at setter. Davis was the libero for the match. Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.) was a serving sub in the first set.
"I think it was a well-played match by both teams," U.S. Women's National Team captain Jennifer Tamas said. "We knew to play against a team with such a fast offense like Japan it is important to serve aggressively, and I think we did a good job at that today. We are happy with the start and with this win."
The U.S. controlled the service game with an 8-0 ace advantage. The American edged Japan 8-5 in blocks and limited their errors to 17 for the match. Team USA held a 41.8 service receptions efficiency, while Japan had difficulty on serve-receive with only 18 excellent receptions on 68 attempts.
Saori Kimura led Japan with 12 points, while Mai Yamaguchi contributed nine points in the loss.
"We played against the FIVB World Grand Prix champions from last year so we know it was going to be tough," Japan Head Coach Maayoshi Manabe said. "We dropped a lot of points on our serves so it became difficult for us."
In other FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round matches played later on Wednesday, Brazil (0-0) plays Italy (0-0) at 1:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Aug. 23) in a Pool B match, Thailand (0-0) challenges Russia (0-0) at 5 p.m. local time (2 a.m. Pacific Time) and Serbia (0-0) faces host China (0-0) at 8 p.m. local time (5 a.m. Pacific Time) in Pool A matches.
