Olympics | USA defeats Serbia, secures top medal round seed

Final score: USA 3, Serbia 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-16)

Next match: Sunday, 12noon (Pacific) vs. Turkey (2-2)

This could be Logan Tom’s last Olympics.

If so, the 31-year-old Stanford grad seems determined to make it memorable.

Logan Tom (right) snaps a kill past Serbia's block attempt
-Reuters

Tom finished with 10 kills and just 2 errors on 18 swings (.444) as USA (4-0) defeated Serbia (0-4) in three sets. With the win, USA clinches the top Pool B seed in next week’s quarterfinals.

This is Tom’s fourth Olympics, and she did not take London by storm. In the first match, a 3-1 victory over South Korea, Tom hit a miserable .088, with just 8 kills and 5 errors on 34 swings. But in a 3-1 win against Brazil, she had just one error with 12 kills and hit a sensational .407.

Against China—a 3-0 victory—Tom saw 19 attack attempts, and converted just 5 kills (.210). But as her performance today against Serbia showed, the team is better when she's on her game.

Tom is USA’s most consistent server, and is usually the opponent’s serving target. She had just one serve-receive error against Brazil (out of 23 attempts), and had no errors against the Serbians. Her game face seems famously locked in a scowl, but when she’s in her zone, she plays defense with the intensity of a libero.

For the match, USA outgunned Serbia .353 to .147. In large part, Serbia’s weak serve allowed USA to stay in system, so it ran its offense with minimal effort. USA totaled just 87 attack attempts—by far its lowest match total of these Olympics.

As usual, USA setter Lindsey Berg gave most attack opportunities to Destinee Hooker, who responded with 12 kills and 2 errors on 21 attempts (.476)—half her average of 42 attempts for the first three matches. Tom and Foluke Akinradewo (6 kills, .286) were the beneficiaries of Berg's wider distribution.

Destinee Hooker and Foluke Akinradewo
-AP

Hooker’s defense was way off the mark; she had six digging errors, an area of some concern entering the Olympics.

Megan Hodge came off her stellar China performance with a thud—1 kill, 2 errors on 7 attempts (-.142) She split time with usual starter Jordan Larson, who contributed what she could (5 kills, .333).

All 12 roster players saw playing time, with Danielle Scott-Arruda and Christa Harmotto sharing time, and Courtney Thompson and Tama Miyashiro making spot appearances. Thompson was the setter for the final six serves of the first set. Neither Thompson nor starting setter Berg distinguished themselves during the end of a somewhat lackluster second set.

USA will be the top seed from Pool B when medal round play begins next week. Its likely first opponent will be Dominican Republic (1-3).

First, however, USA must face Turkey on Sunday. Turkey is one of four Pool B teams with 2-2 records, and will likely need to win at least two sets against USA to advance.

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With an 0-3 loss today to Dominican Republic, host Britain's hopes to advance to the medal round all but evaporated. Former Washington player Janine Sandell had six kills for Britain, which was outhit .395 to .068 as a team for the match. The British can still advance if it beats Japan (2-2) and Algeria (0-4) manages to defeat Dominican Republic.

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[Note: teams are awarded three points for a 3-0 or 3-1 victory; 2 points for a 3-2 victory; 1 point for a 2-3 loss; and no points for a 1-3 or 0-3 loss. The top four team in each pool advances to the medal round quarterfinals, with the #1 seed in each pool facing the #4 seed in the other pool and the #2 seeds squaring off against the opposite pools #3.]

Pool A

		WINS	LOSSES	POINTS
1	Russia	Gr. Britain (3-0) Dom. Rep. (3-1) Algeria (3-0) Japan (3-1)		12
2	Italy	Dom. Rep. (3-1) Japan (3-1) Gr. Britain (3-0) Algeria (3-0)		12
3	Japan	Algeria (3-0) Dom. Rep. (3-0)	Italy (1-3) Russia (1-3)	6
4	Dominican Republic	Gr. Britain (3-0)	Italy (1-3) Russia (1-3) Japan (0-3)	3
5	Great Britain	Algeria (3-2)	Russia (0-3) Italy (0-3) Dom. Rep. (0-3)	2
6	Algeria		Japan (0-3) Gr. Britain (2-3) Russia (0-3) Italy (0-3)	1

Sunday's schedule: Russia vs. Italy, Japan vs. Great Britain, Dominican Republic vs. Algeria

Pool B

		WINS	LOSSES	POINTS
1	USA	Korea (3-1) Brazil (3-1) China (3-1) Serbia (3-0)		12
2	South Korea	Serbia (3-1) Brazil (3-0)	USA (1-3) Turkey (2-3)	7
3	China	Serbia (3-1) Turkey (3-1)	USA (0-3) Brazil (2-3)	7
4	Turkey	Serbia (3-0) Korea (3-2)	Brazil (2-3) China (1-3)	6
5	Brazil	Turkey (3-2) China (3-2)	USA (1-3) Korea (0-3)	4
6	Serbia		China (1-3) Korea (1-3) Turkey (0-3) USA (0-3)	0

 Sunday's schedule: USA vs. Turkey, South Korea vs. China, Brazil vs. Serbia

Olympics | USA clinches spot in medal round

China, Korea both lose

Although it has played just three of its five preliminary pool matches, losses by two other teams today ensured USA will compete in next week's Olympic medal round.

Brazil celebrates during a 3-2 win against China Friday in London
-Getty images

China (2-2) suffered its second consecutive loss, as defending champion Brazil (2-2) staved off what would have been embarrassing early Olympic elimination. Brazil prevailed in five sets, winning the final set 15-10.

South Korea (2-2), fresh off a big win over Brazil, fell to Turkey (2-2), also in five sets. The fifth set was 15-12.

Olympic women's indoor volleyball has two pools, with six teams in each pool. The top four in each pool advance to next week's quarterfinals. Rankings are based on pool win/loss records, with teams awarded 3 points for winning a match either 3-0 or 3-1; 2 points for winning 3-2; 1 point for losing 2-3; and no points for losing 1-3 or 0-3.

At the moment, the USA (3-0) leads Pool B with 9 points and two matches to play (today against Serbia and Sunday against Turkey). Brazil (2-2) is in fifth place with 4 points and just one match to play (Sunday against Serbia.) Thus, USA can finish no lower than fourth.

If USA beats Serbia today in either three or four sets, it will have 12 points, and will clinch the top spot in Pool B, no matter how it does Sunday against Turkey.

Current Pool B standings (before USA vs. Serbia):

Pool B

		WINS	LOSSES	POINTS
1	USA	Korea (3-1) Brazil (3-1) China (3-1)		9
2	South Korea	Serbia (3-1) Brazil (3-0)	USA (1-3) Turkey (2-3)	7
3	China	Serbia (3-1) Turkey (3-1)	USA (0-3) Brazil (2-3)	7
4	Turkey	Serbia (3-0) Korea (3-2)	Brazil (2-3) China (1-3)	6
5	Brazil	Turkey (3-2) China (3-2)	USA (1-3) Korea (0-3)	4
6	Serbia		China (1-3) Korea (1-3) Turkey (0-3)	0

see also:
Olympics | Surprises in rear-view mirror, showdowns in headlights

Olympic diary | Courtney Thompson on family

Volleyblog Seattle is working with Courtney Thompson to produce periodic Olympic diaries for the Seattle Times.

The third installment is now on the Times' website (and in Friday's paper)

Olympics | Courtney Thompson’s family shares the London vibe

Courtney Thompson’s parents—Steve and Linda—are as proud of their daughter as any Olympic mom and dad would be.

Courtney Thompson and brother Trevor
-photo by Linda Thompson

Each time I’m in touch with them, however, they remind me how hard they try to stay out of the spotlight. To them, all three of their children—Courtney and her older brothers Trevor and Craig—are special and each is deserving of his or her own time to shine.

It took some coaxing, then, to convince them to share a few of their London Olympics experiences. They get to see Courtney every other day for a couple of hours, and are otherwise cheering the team from arena seats, hanging out at the special Team USA Family House, or seeing London’s sights.

Some highlights of their journey so far:

Courtney Thompson and mother Linda
-photo by Steve Thompson

Linda Thompson with bronze medalist Danell Leyva
and his grandparents and cousin, Derek
-photo by Steve Thompson

Courtney Thompson and her father, Steve
-photo by Linda Thompson

• The “vibe” of the games is fascinating; everywhere you go people are wearing flags, cheering for their teams, and sharing the excitement of so many intense competitions going on simultaneously. Meeting people from all different parts of the world has been a wonderful and unexpected bonus!
• Hearing the announcer say, “Now serving for the United States, Courtney Thompson!”
• Meeting Courtney for lunch the day after her first match and giving our daughter a big hug. Our daughter, who is now an Olympian! We are so proud and happy that her hard work has paid off and that her dream has come true.
• The USA vs China match was electric, especially during the third set that went to 31 - 29. The sold out crowd simultaneously chanted USA! USA! and CHINA! CHINA! It was a moment of true "Olympic feeling". When Courtney entered the third set with USA trailing 22-23 … Oh, my goodness. I was trying to take a picture, but my heart was beating so strongly, I think my camera was shaking!
• At the USA Family House, we happened to sit by the Kukors family. We had never met, but introduced ourselves and realized we are neighbors in the Northwest! Emily graduated from Auburn High School the same year Courtney graduated from Kentlake. Emily was a swimming star who I remember reading about in our papers all the time. Now her younger sister, Ariana Kukors, has placed 5th in the Olympic 200 individual medley for TEAM USA! What a small world it is!
• We also met Derek, a 16 year old young man staying at our hotel with his grandparents, Cuban natives who now live in Miami. Derek is here to help interpret for them and to watch his 20-year-old cousin Danell Leyva win all-around bronze in men’s gymnastics. Danell gave us a signed t shirt and we promised to send something of Courtney’s USA Volleyball mementos to Derek. He’s become sort of part of our extended family, and we’ve loved getting to know his family.
• The USA Family House is sponsored by Proctor & Gamble. They’ve created a comfortable place for athlete’s families to relax, eat, and spend time from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. How awesome is that? Everyone is over-the-top friendly and helpful. There are flat screen TV’s everywhere you look, of every size possible; as well as giant wall-size screens in the larger family rooms. As we watched the Opening ceremonies there with other families, they served champagne and appetizers, and dropped red, white, and blue balloons from the ceiling. We’ve watched the women’s and men’s gymnastics finals, many swimming events, men’s volleyball, and other events there - so much fun when the entire place is cheering for USA! There is food and drink a plenty, free laundry service, and even a play area for young kids, and a men’s and women’s salon. Everything is complimentary….an amazing luxury!
• This experience continues to be completely surreal. We are so proud of Courtney and we are so appreciative for all the interest, caring and support from all our friends, and the NW volleyball community in general. Courtney’s dream is now her reality. What more can a parent ask for? It’s pretty sweet.

Olympics | Surprises in rear mirror, showdowns in headlights

Women's Olympic indoor volleyball field starts to sort out after first week

Two pools. 18 pool matches down, 12 more to go. By Sunday we’ll know which eight teams will advance to next week’s single-elimination medal rounds.

USA celebrates against China
-photo by David Weitl

USA entered the 2012 Olympics ranked #1 in the world, and has only enhanced that status with three impressive wins against three strong teams. The Americans are in Pool B, where 4 of the 6 teams (USA, Brazil, Turkey & China) reached the final round of the 2012 World Grand Prix (won by USA).

But teams have played just three matches so far, and those that reach the medal round will play five more. With lots of volleyball still ahead, here are the surprises to date and the future matches to savor.

SURPRISES

Brazil: The defending Olympic champions have fallen far from their top world ranking just a year ago. Volleyball-mad Brazilians have questioned the decision not to include long-time setter Fabiola on the Olympic roster. They may also question why middle blocker Fabiana gets so much playing time. If the medal round were to begin today, Brazil would miss the cut. It should beat last-place Serbia Sunday, so Friday’s China match against China could decide the team’s fate. If they don’t get past pool play, expect huge changes before Rio de Janeiro hosts the 2016 games.

South Korea: Outside hitter Yeon-Koung Kim is one of the world’s best players, and she’s nearly been unstoppable in these Olympics. After losing 3-1 to USA in a match that was closer than the final score indicates, the Koreans beat Serbia and then dismantled Brazil. If they beat Turkey tomorrow, they’ll make the medal round, with a telling final pool match against China on Sunday.

Great Britain: As the host country, the 69^th-ranked Brits got an automatic berth and an easier pool. On Tuesday, they outlasted 16^th-ranked Algeria (3-2), a match where Washington alumni Janine Sandell displayed power and grace. One more win, and Britain advances, where Sandell would face former UW teammates Courtney Thompson and Tama Miyashiro in the quarterfinals.

Megan Hodge: The former Penn State star didn’t play a minute against either South Korea or China, then came in with a flourish against China. When Hodge, Foluke Akinradewo and Destinee Hooker are on the front line (with Logan Tom serving), USA can expect to go on some serious scoring runs.

COMING UP

Friday:

China vs. Brazil. If the defending Olympic champions lose, they may not advance to the medal round. Ouch.

South Korea vs. Turkey. If Korea wins, it sets up a second-place showdown with China. If Turkey wins, it makes Brazil’s situation even more perilous.

Great Britain vs. Dominican Republic. With a win, the Brits all but ensure a spot in the medal round, with USA as the likely quarterfinals opponent.

Sunday:

Russia vs. Italy. Both teams may enter this match undefeated, with top Pool A seed at stake.

South Korea vs. China. Could be a signature opportunity for the Koreans.

Next week:

The top four teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals, with ties broken by number of sets won and lost (among other tiebreakers.) The top seed from each pool faces the fourth seed from the opposite pool, while the two seeds face the three seeds.

Pool A

		WINS	LOSSES
1	Russia	Gr. Britain (3-0) Dom. Rep. (3-1) Algeria (3-0)
2	Italy	Dom. Rep. (3-1) Japan (3-1) Gr. Britain (3-0)
3	Japan	Algeria (3-0) Dom. Rep. (3-0)	Italy (1-3)
4	Great Britain	Algeria (3-2)	Russia (0-3) Italy (0-3)
5	Algeria		Japan (0-3) Gr. Britain (2-3) Italy (0-3)
6	Dominican Republic		Italy (1-3) Russia (1-3) Japan (0-3)

Pool B

		WINS	LOSSES
1	USA	Korea (3-1) Brazil (3-1) China (3-1)
2	South Korea	Serbia (3-1) Brazil (3-0)	USA (1-3)
3	China	Serbia (3-1) Turkey (3-1)	USA (0-3)
4	Turkey	Serbia (3-0)	Brazil (2-3) China (1-3)
5	Brazil	Turkey (3-2)	USA (1-3) Korea (0-3)
6	Serbia		China (1-3) Korea (1-3) Turkey (0-3)

Olympics | How was USA able to dominate volleyball powerhouse China?

Final score: USA 3, China 0 (26-24, 25-16, 31-29)

One is the youngest member of the team. The other is the oldest.

Until today, neither Megan Hodge, 24, nor Danielle Scott-Arruda, 39, had seen action in the 2012 Olympic Games.

China's Ruoqi Hui misses a block attempt in a 3-0
loss to USA
-Associated Press

But in a pair of jaw-dropping performances, both Hodge and Scott-Arruda came up huge in USA’s stirring 3-0 Olympic conquest of volleyball power China.

In the first set, the Americans came out of a timeout trailing 20-23. Destinee Hooker, who would finish with 17 kills and 7 errors on 40 attempts (.250), connected for a left-side kill. Unexpectedly, USA head coach Hugh McCutcheon substituted Hodge for starting outside hitter Jordan Larson, who had tallied just 2 kills and 2 errors on 7 swings. It would prove a brilliant move.

With Logan Tom serving bullets, Hodge bounced an attack off the head of her Chinese opponent. It was the first of what would eventually be 18 kills and just 4 errors on 27 attempts (.518).

Foluke Akinradewo and Hodge teamed for a block to tie the score at 23. Hooker had a right side kill to get to set point. After a China kill (on a questionable set), setter Lindsey Berg went back to Hodge for her second kill. USA prevailed 26-24 on a Chinese out-of-bounds attack.

“She (Hodge) is very composed in the big moments,” said McCutcheon after the match. “She always feels comfortable when the match or the set is on the line.”

USA's Megan Hodge tips over Junjing Yan's
block attempt
-Getty Images

Keeping Hodge in the match was a risk for McCutcheon. Despite her power, Hodge has struggled with serve receive. In the second set, she was aced when the score was 0-1, had a bad reception at 2-4, and was blocked on a back row attack at 7-9. By the time USA called timeout trailing 7-11, Hodge had just one kill the entire second set.

But after China served in the net (what coaches like to call “time out/side out”), USA was back in rotation two. That meant that, once again, Logan Tom was serving, with the imposing line of Hodge, Akinradewo and Hooker across the front. USA ran off four straight points, starting with a Hodge kill. After a service error, it was another Hodge kill, and Scott-Arruda replaced Christa Harmotto at middle.

At 13-13 came a double block by Scott-Arruda and Hodge. Then a Hodge kill, then another, then another, then another. After China took timeout trailing 13-19, Scott-Arruda scored the next four American points in a row, on three kills and block. After its time-out at 7-11, USA had gone on to win 15 of the next 18 points, 11 by Hodge and Scott-Arruda. The Americans closed out on an 18-5 run to earn a resounding 25-16 second set win.

On December 19, 2009, we were courtside in Tampa, Florida when Penn State and Texas met in the NCAA Finals. Many agree it was perhaps the most dramatic—and possibly the best-ever—championship match in women’s D1 volleyball history. (Penn State overcame an 0-2 deficit and won the fifth set 15-13). Almost everyone on press row that night had the same thought: if both Penn State’s Hodge (21 kills that night) and Texas’ Hooker (34 kills) ever played together at the Olympics, the USA would be unstoppable.

In the third set, they were. Throughout the set, USA never built more than a 3-point lead (3 times), China never pulled ahead by more than 2. At 17-17, Hooker blasted a back row missile that knocked the Chinese defender off her feet.

USA called its first timeout trailing 18-20. McCutcheon looked at the team and said just one thing: “Side out, USA.”

After a Chinese service error, Tom played manic defense, allowing USA to fight off several out-of-system opportunities until Hodge pounded yet another cross-court kill. Tom’s defense and serving were key throughout the match.

Logan Tom served two aces against China
Getty Images

“Their serve is really good and their strong serves made it difficult for us to defend,” said China’s captain Qiuyue Wei afterwards.

Trailing 21-23, McCutcheon called his last timeout. “We side (out), we get one” was all he said. With Courtney Thompson briefly serving and setting, Hodge got the next two USA kills.

At 24-24, USA’s defense dug time and again, until China’s out-of-bounds attack sent McCutcheon leaping with joy.

But China would not fold; it fought off five match points. USA countered with a Hooker back-row kill at 25-25, a Hodge back-row kill at 26-26, an Akinradewo block at 27-27, and a Hodge cross-court kill at 28-28. Tied at 29, Hooker hit a cross-court attack that was so quick, it hit Chinese setter Wei in face, knocking her to the ground.

Now leading 30-29, the last ball went to Hodge, who pushed a tip off the block for the final point.

“What an amazing game,” said Akinradewo. “We showed China what we’re made of.“

Although USA came into the Olympics ranked #1 in world, it has never won Olympic gold (the indoor men’s team won gold in ’84, ’88 and ’08.) The USA women now own pool play victories over both China and Brazil, but are likely to meet one or both of those teams once again in the medal rounds next week.

All 12 women on the USA roster saw action today. That’s a fact that should guarantee late London nights for opposing coaches the rest of the way.