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USA Rallies to Upset Brazil
By Bill Kauffman // USA Volleyball // November 7, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 7, 2007) – Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) scored 21 of her match-high 26 points in the final three sets as the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team rallied from an 0-2 set deficit to defeat Brazil 17-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-9 Wednesday evening on the fifth day of the FIVB World Cup at Sendai, Japan.
Both teams entered the match undefeated in the 12-team round-robin tournament that takes place over 15 days through Nov. 16 in Japan. The U.S., ranked eighth in the latest FIVB world ranking, improves to 5-0 and is one of two undefeated teams left (Italy defeated Japan tonight in three sets at Osaka). The U.S. and Italy meet on the final day of the tournament at Nagoya. Brazil, the third-ranked team in the world, falls to 4-1 in the World Cup standings.
“Yesterday, I said Brazil had no weaknesses,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach ‘Jenny’ Lang Ping said. “You could tell in the first two sets we weren't at the same level. They didn't have their rhythm. When they get going you can give them more details. We played very brave today. We tried everything. I told them you don't have to try and hit the safest spot - you have to be brave, to do something different. Brazil is too different; you have to break them down.”
The last time the U.S. Women’s National Team had defeated Brazil at an FIVB event was in 2002 during the second round of the World Championships. Prior to today's victory, Team USA holds a 3-15 record versus Brazil in the last five years with the three victories on U.S. domestic tours (1-3 on Tour of Texas in 2003 and 2-1 on Front Range Tour in 2005).
“As always, Brazil is a great team and they played very well,” Haneef-Park said. “It's been a while since we beat them. It's a big win for us. We didn't start out strong. We lacked energy and didn't pass well. In the third set, we decided we just had to leave our hearts and souls on the court. We decided to dedicate our play for a teammate and I was playing for my teammate Jen Joines. In the end, it was all passion, all heart. We really wanted to win this game and it was a question of doing whatever we had to do to get the win.”
The U.S. travels to Kumamoto on Nov. 8 for the third stage of the World Cup and prepares for upcoming matches against Dominican Republic on Nov. 9, Thailand on Nov. 10 and Korea on Nov. 11. All matches are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. local time (or 11:05 p.m. MT on the preceding day).
Brazil won the opening two sets by a combined 50-33 score, but the tide turned as Haneef-Park fired on all cylinders the rest of the way. Brazil reached the opening set’s first technical timeout leading 8-3 with three quick aces, then went on to win 25-17 as Team USA was unable to get closer than two points the rest of the period. Brazil used a 7-1 scoring run to break a 9-all tie in the second set and out-scored the U.S. 16-7 the rest of the frame for a 25-16 victory. Team USA used a 7-2 scoring run to come back from a 14-13 deficit to win the third set 25-21. The U.S. continued the momentum in the fourth set with an early 3-0 lead and used a 6-0 run to open up a 15-7 advantage, then held on for a 25-23 victory as Brazil saved three set points. Team USA took control of the tiebreaker set early with a 4-1 start and led 8-3 at the switchover en route to a 15-9 victory.
“In the first two sets, we couldn't pass or hit,” Ping said. “After the first two sets, I told them Brazil is a great team. But don't think about the result. You have to be relaxed to win, so take it one ball at a time. And I told them to play better volleyball.”
The FIVB Volleyball World Cup, held every four years in the preceding year to the Olympics, is the first of three Olympic qualification steps for Beijing 2008. The top three teams at the World Cup qualify for the 2008 Olympics. The FIVB World Cup is a 12-team event with a round-robin playing format of 11 matches in 15 days.
The U.S. started Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) and Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) at middle blocker, Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Ogonna Nnamani (Normal, Ill.) at outside hitter, Park at opposite and Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) at setter. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) is Team USA’s designated libero for the World Cup. Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) subbed into the match in the first set and started the final four sets in place of Scott-Arruda. Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu) came off the bench in the first and second sets, then started the final three sets. Cassie Busse (Prior Lake, Minn.) was a sub in the first and second sets. Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.) entered the contest as a sub in the second set and started the final three sets in place of Nnamani. Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) was a defensive specialist sub in the third and fourth sets.
Haneef-Park tallied her 26 points on 24 kills, one block and an ace. She connected on 51 percent of her attack attempts. Tom finished with a dozen points on nine kills, two blocks, an ace and a team-high eight digs. Bown added 11 points via eight kills, two blocks and an ace. Joines contributed seven points on five kills and two blocks as a reserve off the bench. Despite starting just the final three sets, Glass managed six kills and a block for seven points. She also passed 11 of 23 errorless service receptions with an excellent rating. Nnamani tacked on five points in the first two sets off kills, while Scott-Arruda was limited to a single kill in the first set. Ah Mow-Santos recorded a kill and block to help jump start the offense in the third set, while finishing the match with 23 assists. Berg was credited with 12 assists in her time on the court. Davis passed 42 of the U.S. service receptions and tallied 22 excellent passes.
“I think (Haneef-Park) played very well today,” Lang Ping said. “This morning I talked to her in training and told her the U.S. might not be able to get all the high balls from the Brazilian attack and for her to be ready to hit a lot of high balls.”
“Everyone knows Brazil is a great team,” Ah Mow-Santos said. “They are flawless in every aspect: setting, defense, blocking, passing. For us to beat them, we have to play at the top of our game. They won't give you the game. In the first two sets our energy level was down. In the third set, we had nothing to lose and we came all out. Then they started to make errors and lose and that's what we wanted.”
Brazil held team advantages in digs (40-33) and aces (5-3), but the U.S. block advantage (9-7) spurred the rally.
“First, I want to offer my congratulations to the United States,” Brazil Head Coach Ze Roberto said. “I felt that throughout the entire game they kept their cool and played calmly. For us in the first and second set, we played like I haven't seen in quite a while. However, from the third set, the USA mixed up their play and added new members to their lineup and from there, their attack and counterattack and play in general just took off. They were able to take over the game. In the end, the USA just played a great game.”
Sheilla Castro paced Brazil with 21 points, but 16 of those came in the opening two sets. Paula Pequeno added 19 points with a team-high three blocks. Fabiana Claudino chipped in 13 points in the loss, while Walewska Oliveira added 11 points.
“Of course, in the first and second set we played really good, but from the middle of the third set, it was like we were not thinking any more,” Castro said. “It was like we blacked out. After that, you saw what happened and the end result was we lost the match.”
Teams not making the World Cup medal stand will have two other opportunities to qualify for the Olympics with continental qualification tournaments in December 2007 and the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in May 2008 at Japan.
Earlier today at Sendai, Cuba defeated Peru 29-27, 25-19, 25-13 and Poland knocked off Kenya 25-12, 25-10, 25-15. At Osaka, Serbia topped Dominican Republic 25-22, 25-14, 25-23, Korea handled Thailand 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 and Italy battled past host Japan 25-18, 25-19, 25-14.
Team USA matches during the FIVB World Cup can be seen on a delayed basis on NBC’s Universal HD network. For more details and broadcast times, go to http://www.usavolleyball.org/VolleyballNews/news.asp?id=1962 for the release.
Brazil built an early four-point cushion, 5-1, in the opening set. The U.S. cut the deficit in half with a Scott-Arruda kill and Brazil error at 5-3. Brazil answered with three consecutive points to assume an 8-3 lead at the first technical timeout with three aces already on the board. A Tom kill and Brazil error cut the deficit to three at 8-5. Brazil extended its lead to 13-8 on back-to-back points. Tom and Nnamani scored back-to-back kills to close Team USA to within three at 14-11. Nnamani followed a Brazil error with a kill to slice the gap to two, 16-14. Brazil scored five unanswered points to assume a 22-15 lead. Brazil reached set point, 24-16, on consecutive points and close out the period with a 25-17 victory. Nnamani tallied four points in the period to lead the U.S., but Brazil served four aces and Castro scored seven points.
Haneef-Park followed a Brazil error with an ace to give the U.S. a 4-3 advantage in the second set. The lead was short-lived as Brazil scored the next two points to regain the lead at 5-4. Brazil gained the first two-point edge of the second set at 11-9 and extended the gap to six points at 16-10 on a 7-1 run. After a Tom kill ended the scoring run, Brazil went on a 4-1 run to establish an eight-point lead at 20-12. Glass turned in a kill after a Brazil error to cut the deficit to six, 20-14. Brazil responded with four consecutive points of its own to take back a 10-point advantage, 24-14. The U.S. saved two set points before Brazil finished off the set at 25-16. Haneef-Park tallied four points in the set to lead the U.S. scoring effort. Through two sets, Castro compiled 16 points for Brazil.
Glass tallied a kill and block to start the third set giving the U.S. an early 2-0 lead. Brazil knotted the score at 3-all on back-to-back points. Team USA picked up a two-point cushion at 7-5 on a Bown kill and Ah Mow-Santos block. Ah Mow-Santos added a kill and was followed by a Bown ace to give the Americans a 9-6 advantage. Brazil quickly tied the set back up at 10-all on a 4-1 scoring spurt. Brazil took its first lead of the third set at 12-11. Tom followed a Bown kill with an ace to return the U.S. into the lead at 15-14. The U.S. went into the second technical timeout on a 3-0 and leading 16-14 after a Brazil error. Haneef-Park placed a kill between two Brazil errors to push the U.S. lead to four points, 20-16. Brazil cut the deficit to one with back-back-to-back points at 20-19. The U.S. gained a four-point cushion with two kills from Haneef-Park around a Tom block at 24-20. Haneef-Park closed the set with a kill at 25-21 as she scored nine points in the period. Bown added four points for Team USA in the third set.
The U.S. continued the momentum early in the fourth set with a 3-0 lead as Joines and Glass hammered kills around a Brazil error. Brazil closed to within one at 4-3 with consecutive points. The U.S. returned to a three-point lead at 7-4 on a Tom kill and Brazil error. Team USA gained a five-point advantage on a Glass kill, Brazil error and Haneef-Park block at 12-7. The U.S. scored its fourth and fifth consecutive points on Brazil errors to give the Americans a 14-7 lead. Haneef-Park continued with a kill at 15-7 before Brazil could end the 6-0 run. Brazil closed to gap to three points at 22-19 on a 5-1 run scoring spurt. After a Haneef-Park kill gave Team USA set point at 24-20, Brazil saved three chances at 24-23. The U.S. ended the set thanks to an error by Brazil. Haneef-Park scored nine points in the fourth set and the U.S. picked up nine points off Brazil errors.
The U.S. earned the first two-point cushion of the fifth set as Tom and Bown picked up back-to-back kills at 3-1. Team USA scored a third straight point on a Brazil error at 4-1. Bown and Tom stuff Brazil attacks around a Tom kill as part of a 3-0 run to extend the U.S. lead to five, 7-2. Team USA stretched the lead to seven points on kills from Glass and Haneef-Park around a Brazil error at 12-5. Brazil narrowed the deficit to four at 13-9 on back-to-back-to-back points. However, the U.S. stuffed the rally with a Haneef-Park kill and Brazil error on match point 15-9. The U.S. scored five points in the tiebreaker off Brazil errors, while Haneef-Park, Tom and Bown all added three points apiece.
The U.S. Women’s National Team press kit can be downloaded off the USA Volleyball web site at http://www.usavolleyball.org/media/national/07WorldCupPressKit-W.pdf.
U.S. Women’s National Team Preliminary Roster for 2007 FIVB World Cup
1 - Ogonna Nnamani (OH, 6-1, Stanford, Normal, Illinois)
2 - Danielle Scott-Arruda (MB, 6-2, Long Beach State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
3 - Tayyiba Haneef-Park (OH/OPP, 6-7, Long Beach State, Laguna Hills, California)
4 – Lindsey Berg (S, 5-8, Minnesota, Honolulu, Hawai’i)
5 – Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Texas A&M, Burleson, Texas)
6 – Logan Tom (OH, 6-1, Stanford, Salt Lake City, Utah)
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Hawai’i, Yorba Linda, California)
9 - Jennifer Joines (MB, 6-3, Pacific, Milpitas, California)
10 – Kim Glass (OH, 6-3, Arizona, Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
11 - Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (S, 5-9, Hawai’i, Honolulu, Hawai’i)
15 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-6, Southern California, Stockton, California)
18 - Cassandra “Cassie” Busse (OPP, 6-1, Minnesota, Prior Lake, Minnesota)
Head Coach: “Jenny” Lang Ping
Assistant Coaches: Sue Woodstra, Yong Li, Tom Hogan
Team Manager: Kerry Klostermann
Technical Coordinator: Diane French
Technical Consultant: Darrell Akimoto
Team Doctor: Dr. Sherwin Ho
Medical Support: Emery Hill, Jr.
2007 FIVB World Cup Standings
(most up-to-date standings with point ratios at http://www.fivb.org/EN/volleyball/competitions/WorldCup/2007/Women/Standings/Standings.asp?sm=128)
Italy 5-0
USA 5-0
Brazil 4-1
Serbia 4-1
Cuba 3-2
Japan 3-2
Poland 2-3
Korea 2-3
Dominican Republic 1-4
Peru 1-4
Thailand 0-5
Kenya 0-5
* Denotes current day’s match not included in standings
2007 FIVB World Cup Women’s Schedule
First Round
(at Tokyo)
11/2: Serbia def. Korea 25-21, 25-23, 25-15
11/2: Italy def. Thailand 25-14, 25-14, 25-16
11/2: Japan def. Dominican Republic 25-23, 25-18, 25-20
11/3: Serbia def. Thailand 25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 26-24
11/3: Italy def. Dominican Republic 25-17, 25-16, 25-17
11/3: Japan def. Korea 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16
11/4: Dominican Republic def. Thailand 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 17-15
11/4: Italy def. Korea 25-15, 25-19, 25-22
11/4: Serbia def. Japan 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24
(at Hamamatsu)
11/2: Cuba def. Kenya 25-11, 25-18, 25-20
11/2: USA def. Peru 25-23, 25-14, 25-19
11/2: Brazil def. Poland 25-12, 25-20, 25-22
11/3: USA def. Cuba 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 15-11
11/3: Poland def. Peru 25-17, 25-17, 25-16
11/3: Brazil def. Kenya 25-16, 25-7, 25-14
11/4: Peru def. Kenya 25-16, 25-9, 25-19
11/4: Brazil def. Cuba 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-11
11/4: USA def. Poland 25-21, 12-25, 27-25, 25-17
Second Round
(at Osaka)
11/6: Italy def. Serbia 23-25, 25-14, 16-25, 25-17, 15-7
11/6: Korea def. Dominican Republic 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21
11/6: Japan def. Thailand 25-19, 27-25, 25-14
11/7: Korea def. Thailand 25-21, 25-20, 25-21
11/7: Serbia def. Dominican Republic 25-22, 25-14, 25-23
11/7: Italy def. Japan 25-18, 25-19, 25-14
(at Sendai)
11/6: USA def. Kenya 25-9, 25-20, 25-10
11/6: Cuba def. Poland 21-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13
11/6: Brazil def. Peru 25-17, 25-15, 25-17
11/7: Poland def. Kenya 25-12, 25-10, 25-15
11/7: Cuba def. Peru 29-27, 25-19, 25-13
11/7: USA def. Brazil 17-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-9
Third Round
(at Sapporo)
11/9: Italy vs. Poland, 2:05 p.m.
11/9: Kenya vs. Serbia, 4:35 p.m.
11/9: Japan vs. Peru, 7:30 p.m.
11/10: Italy vs. Kenya, 2:05 p.m.
11/10: Peru vs. Serbia, 4:35 p.m.
11/10: Japan vs. Poland, 7:30 p.m.
11/11: Peru vs. Italy, 12:35 p.m.
11/11: Poland vs. Serbia, 3:05 p.m.
11/11: Japan vs. Kenya, 6 p.m.
(at Kumamoto)
11/9: Dominican Republic vs. USA, 3:05 p.m. (11:05 p.m. MT on Nov. 8)
11/9: Brazil vs. Thailand, 12:35 p.m.
11/9: Cuba vs. Korea, 6:05 p.m.
11/10: Cuba vs. Dominican Republic, 12:35 p.m.
11/10: Thailand vs. USA, 3:05 p.m. (11:05 p.m. MT on Nov. 9)
11/10: Brazil vs. Korea, 6:05 p.m.
11/11: Cuba vs. Thailand, 12:35 p.m.
11/11: Korea vs. USA, 3:05 p.m. (11:05 p.m. MT on Nov. 10)
11/11: Brazil vs. Dominican Republic, 6:05 p.m.
Fourth Round
(at Nagoya Site A)
11/14: Brazil vs. Italy, 2:05 p.m.
11/14: Serbia vs. USA, 4:35 p.m. (12:05 a.m. MT)
11/14: Japan vs. Cuba, 7:30 p.m.
11/15: Brazil vs. Serbia, 12:35 p.m.
11/15: Cuba vs. Italy, 3:05 p.m.
11/15: Japan vs. USA, 6 p.m. (2 a.m. MT)
11/16: Cuba vs. Serbia, 12:35 p.m.
11/16: Italy vs. USA, 3:05 p.m. (11:05 pm. MT on Nov. 15)
11/16: Japan vs. Brazil, 6 p.m.
(at Nagoya Site B)
11/14: Kenya vs. Thailand, 12:35 p.m.
11/14: Dominican Republic vs. Poland, 3:05 p.m.
11/14: Korea vs. Peru, 6:05 p.m.
11/15: Dominican Republic vs. Kenya, 12:35 p.m.
11/15: Peru vs. Thailand, 3:05 p.m.
11/15: Korea vs. Poland, 6:05 p.m.
11/16: Dominican Republic vs. Peru, 12:05 p.m.
11/16: Poland vs. Thailand, 2:35 p.m.
11/16: Kenya vs. Korea, 5:05 p.m.
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