Post by Admin on Aug 8, 2021 7:32:55 GMT
The decades-long quest for the first Olympic gold medal by the U.S. women's volleyball team ended Sunday when the Americans finally broke through with a 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 victory over Brazil at the Tokyo Games.
The United States, which had won three silver medals and two bronze since first getting on the medal stand in 1984, got to the top step by beating the team that denied it a chance at gold in the final match of the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Captain Jordan Larson, who was part of that silver-winning team in 2012 and the bronze-medal team five years ago, paved the way with her leadership on the court and her strong play on the attack and on defense.
Larson and middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson, who both came back for a third Olympics after falling short in Rio de Janeiro, now have a complete medal collection following the final Olympic match of their careers.
The victory also allowed U.S. coach Karch Kiraly to join Lang Ping of China as the second person to win gold as a volleyball player and then lead a country to gold as coach. Kiraly won gold indoors as a player in 1984 and 1988. He also won gold in beach volleyball in 1996.
The U.S. got off to a fast start by scoring the first four points behind strong attacking by Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. It never trailed in the opening set, winning it 25-21 on a soft shot by Bartsch-Hackley that gave her eight points in the set.
The Americans played from ahead for most of the second set as well, and Larson's well-placed soft shot at the net put them up 22-17. They closed out the set when Carol Silva's serve went long.
That pattern continued in the third set, and the match ended in fitting style with a kill by Larson, completing a sweep by the Americans of all nine sets in the knockout stage. The U.S. players all gathered on the floor in a tearful hug.
Brazil had won gold in either men's or women's indoor volleyball in four straight Olympics, with the men claiming the title in 2004 and 2016 and the women in 2008 and 2012.
But it will leave with only a silver this year, after the women lost for the first time in Tokyo following seven straight wins. The men lost a semifinal match to the Russian Olympic Committee team and then the bronze-medal game against Argentina.
The United States, which had won three silver medals and two bronze since first getting on the medal stand in 1984, got to the top step by beating the team that denied it a chance at gold in the final match of the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Captain Jordan Larson, who was part of that silver-winning team in 2012 and the bronze-medal team five years ago, paved the way with her leadership on the court and her strong play on the attack and on defense.
Larson and middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson, who both came back for a third Olympics after falling short in Rio de Janeiro, now have a complete medal collection following the final Olympic match of their careers.
The victory also allowed U.S. coach Karch Kiraly to join Lang Ping of China as the second person to win gold as a volleyball player and then lead a country to gold as coach. Kiraly won gold indoors as a player in 1984 and 1988. He also won gold in beach volleyball in 1996.
The U.S. got off to a fast start by scoring the first four points behind strong attacking by Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. It never trailed in the opening set, winning it 25-21 on a soft shot by Bartsch-Hackley that gave her eight points in the set.
The Americans played from ahead for most of the second set as well, and Larson's well-placed soft shot at the net put them up 22-17. They closed out the set when Carol Silva's serve went long.
That pattern continued in the third set, and the match ended in fitting style with a kill by Larson, completing a sweep by the Americans of all nine sets in the knockout stage. The U.S. players all gathered on the floor in a tearful hug.
Brazil had won gold in either men's or women's indoor volleyball in four straight Olympics, with the men claiming the title in 2004 and 2016 and the women in 2008 and 2012.
But it will leave with only a silver this year, after the women lost for the first time in Tokyo following seven straight wins. The men lost a semifinal match to the Russian Olympic Committee team and then the bronze-medal game against Argentina.