Courtney Thompson: “We
had no doubt”
- USA def. Russia 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-16, 25-22) [World Grand Prix Finals third round-robin]
It was the second set, and Nataliya Goncharova was on fire. Russia’s 6-4 opposite was on her way to a match-high 25 kills on 51
swings, and had her team up 16-10. That’s when USA setter Courtney Thompson and
opposite Kelly Murphy entered on the double-substitution.
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| USA setter Courtney Thompson celebrates a point in a 3-1 World Grand Prix Finals win over Russia -FIVB |
“We could be down by ten, and we’re optimistic that
something good is about to happen,” said Thompson. “We had no doubt, and we
love those opportunities to make big plays.”
With Thompson dishing across the line, the Americans closed
to 20-17 before she and Murphy rotated out. From there, Goncharova again took
over, landing 3 more kills to tie the sets at 1-1.
In the USA huddle, USA head coach Karch Kiraly made some adjustments. “We changed our blocking scheme
a little to try and slow #8 (Goncharova) down,” said Kiraly. “That’s a tough
thing to do. She’s a handful.”
Sure enough, Goncharova began to fade, helped in part by
improved USA serving and passing. “We just made little plays,” said Thompson. “We
got on ‘em serving, we got on a few runs and we were able to terminate a few
balls in transition.”
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| USA players celebrate a point in a 3-1 World Grand Prix Finals win over Russia -FIVB |
In the fourth set, Russia built a 22-20 lead. Middle blocker
Tori Dixon’s quick kill sent her to
the line, where she served the final four points of the set, including a
match-clinching service ace. That brought the USA record to 3-0 in the round-robin
World Grand Prix Final, with Brazil (2-1) and China (1-2) still on the schedule.
The Russians are a tall and young team. Ultimately, it was
USA’s quick tempo that made the difference. Except for the second set, sharp
passing allowed setters Molly Kreklow
and Thompson to go time and again to Karsta
Lowe and to the middles. Foluke Akinradewo
finished with 13 kills on 24 attacks; Dixon added 8 kills on 18 swings. Once
again, Lowe was USA’s scoring leader, tallying 19 kills on 38 attempts and
adding 3 blocks.
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| USA players celebrate a point in a 3-1 World Grand Prix Finals win over Russia; Tori Dixon in center -FIVB |
Saturday features a rare USA/Brazil doubleheader. In Omaha, the two teams square off in the
fourth round-robin match of the World Grand Prix Finals. Later in the evening,
their split squads—including Krista
Vansant and Jenna Hagglund—play
for the gold in the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
