U.S. Women Volleyball Beats South Korea

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 26 -- If the U.S. women’s volleyball teamgoes on to win a medal, South Korea should at least get a fewshavings.

The Americans, going toe to toe with the best defensive team atthe Olympics, prevailed in an incredibly close five-game match andadvanced to the semifinals for the first time since 1992.

The teams went back and forth for more than two hours, butultimately it was a contested call that decided the 26-24, 27-25,25-23, 25-27, 16-14 victory today.

After Logan Tom dropped in a dink over the block to end atypically long rally and give the U.S. team a 15-14 lead, SouthKorea’s Ku Min-Jung fired a ball down the left line that theofficial called out. The South Koreans protested, but the Americansjumped up and down in celebration.

The Americans will face Russia in the semifinals.

46 Kills for American Duo

Tom and Danielle Scott had most of the big hits for theAmericans, getting 46 kills between them. But Kerri Walsh, a formerteammate of Tom’s at Stanford who had just recovered from aninjury, was the key. Normally a blocker, she came in to disrupt theSouth Koreans with her hitting, and she also turned a stint atsetter for a while.

Walsh made two spectacular plays that helped the U.S. team comeback from a 12-9 deficit in the fifth game, which in this match wasa huge lead.

After Scott scored points with a kill and block, Walsh chaseddown a hopelessly wide ball near the U.S. bench. Tom ended up withthe winner to tie it.

On the next play, Walsh dove to get an index finger on a spike,and Tom wound up with the kill again.

Marathon Match

The U.S. team said the day before the match that it would haveto be mentally strong enough to weather some long points, but theycouldn’t have predicted such a marathon.

Each game had its own drama, with the difference between theteams so slight that one hand on the ball was enough to decidecrucial points.

The United States jumped to a 6-1 lead to start the match behindthe leaping shots of Tom, who had seven kills in the opening game.Tied at 24, the Americans squeezed out the win when TaraCross-Battle dropped in a dink over the block and Heather Bown gota service ace.