Volleyball loses to Ukraine, takes silverby Rachel Benedict on September 14, 2009 The U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team saw its gold-medal dreams vanish after a disappointing loss to Ukraine in three sets Sunday at National Taiwan University Sports Center. The loss gave the team silver, an improvement from its bronze finish in the 2005 Melbourne Deaflympics. Sunday’s match was the eighth match in eight days for the Americans, which played a factor in the loss, head coach Lynn Ray Boren said. The Ukranians played Belarus in the semifinals, and Belarus did not play their starters, giving Ukraine some rest in an easy match. Consequently, Ukraine was fresh for its championship match against the Americans. The Americans, on the other hand, had to battle Japan 24 hours before facing Ukraine. “We had no time to reenergize, especially after going all out against Japan,” Valerie Trofimenkoff said. A heated first set began the match with quick offensive playing and good defense from both teams. The score never had a score margin larger than three, which kept both teams on their feet. Ukraine had nine aces alone in the first set, which helped edge them out for the 25-22 win. “We still had a chance at [that] point,” Ludmila Mounty-Weinstock said. Although the Americans didn’t appear to lose momentum after the first-set loss, Ukraine seized control of the second set from the start and led the entire time. The Americans became discomposed and couldn’t unite to compete for the win despite numerous timeouts. Ukraine streaked ahead and won, 25-7. “They found a weak spot in our [back-row] defense and took advantage of it,” Boren said. The Americans struggled to stay in the match as the Ukranians controlled the third set, holding their lead from beginning to end, aided by weak serve receiving from the Americans. “We have nothing to lose! Just play!” Foronda told her teammates in the third set as Ukraine started to build its lead. Towards the end of the set, the Ukranians started to celebrate as they cruised to win, 25-14. As the match came to an end, emotions ran high for both teams, in polar opposites. On the Ukrainian side, players jumped up and down, hugging each other. At the other end of the court, the Americans stood in a circle, fazed and dejected. Boren displayed good sportsmanship and respect for the Ukrainians, going over to their side to congratulate the players and coach. He then addressed his team about the loss. “Serve receiving killed us today,” Boren said. “We will learn from this loss, and do better the next time.” |
 (Photo by Sina McCarthy)
 (Photo by Sina McCarthy)
Latest News
Donate
|