All Sports News: 9/11/11

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Still flawless on season

No. 4 Emory finished off a perfect weekend with a pair of wins on the final day

of action at the Doc Partin, defeating Birmingham Southern, 3-0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-15), and

No. 5 Eastern, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 25-13). The Eagles took home first place honors at

the Classic, posting a 4-0 record and in the process boosting its season mark to 7-1.

Against the Panthers of BSC, the Eagles finished with a .280 attack percentage (47-17-107)

and used a strong defensive effort that held the visitors to .097 (27-17—103). Emory

chalked up a 55-39 edge in digs and enjoyed a 10-5 cushion in total blocks. Senior Amelia

McCall led all players with 18 kills, a .417 hitting percentage (18-3—36) and 16 digs.

The Eagles spread out their offensive opportunities with 11 players recording kills in the

match. Junior Alena Ransom was next up among the team's leaders in terminations with six

put-aways.

No. 1 Calvin 3, Kalamzoo 0
No. 1 Calvin picked up a 25-16, 25-14, 25-15 victory against Kalamazoo in an MIAA contest at

Van Noord Arena.

Calvin hit .494 as a team led by the sister tandem of Rebecca and Lizzie Kamp. Rebecca Kamp

tallied 14 kills and an attack percentage of .684 while Lizzie Kamp had 11 kills and an

attack percentage of .647.

Calvin also tallied 10 team blocks led by senior Renee DeHaan who chalked up six block

assists. Lizzie Kamp and sophomore Kristi Zietse added seven digs apiece while sophomore

setter Megan Rietema had 33 assists, one block solo and two block assists.

No. 2 Washington (Mo.) 3, No. 20 Wisconsin-Whitewater 0
No. 2 Washington (Mo.) 3, No. 6 Christopher Newport 0
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- No. 2 Washington (Mo.) endured its toughest test of the season but still

pulled out a 3-0 victory over No. 6 Christopher Newport (25-17, 25-23, 25-20) in the

WU/Asics National Invitational championship match at the Washington University Field House

in St. Louis, Mo.

Earlier in the day Washington defeated No. 20 Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20,

25-11), leaving the Bears with a perfect 10-0 mark through the first two weeks of the season

without dropping a set in any match.

Senior middle hitter Lauren Budde, junior libero Kelly Pang and junior outside hitter Drew

Hargrave were each named to the WU/Asics National Invitational All-Tournament Team for their

roles in leading the Red and Green to a perfect weekend.

No. 3 Wittenburg 3, No.11 Heidelber 0
No. 3 Wittenburg 3, Thomas More 0
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- No. 3 Wittenberg put the finishing touches on a perfect weekend at Mount

St. Joseph's Charlie Wrublewski Tournament with a pair of 3-0 wins against top Great Lakes

Region rivals No. 11 Heidelberg and Thomas More.

Coupled with a 3-0 sweep of the host team on Friday, Wittenberg now stands 6-0 on the young

season.

Against Heidelberg, the Tigers won the three sets by scores of 25-21, 25-18, 25-19. The

offensive leaders were seniors Katie Sumner and Hannah Riley with nine kills apiece. Sumner

attacked at a .380 clip. Defensively, senior Kimmie Dyer led with 13 digs, while Riley

contributed 12.

No. 5 Eastern 3, Birmingham Southern 0
No. 5 Eastern 1, No. 4 Emory 3
ATLANTA--For the first time this season, No. 5 Eastern has experienced the agony of defeat.

The Eagles succumbed to the No. 4 Emory University Eagles in four sets, 20-25, 26-24, 23-25,

13-25.

As a team, Eastern recorded a .162 hitting percentage while Emory notched a .320 hitting

percentage for the match. "I can't believe the games were as close as they were with them

hitting .320 and us hitting .162," Coach Mark Birtwistle said.

Still flawless on season

Kansas upsets No. 6 Minnesota

Staring down its second fifth-set match in as many days, Kansas pulled

out a performances to defeat No. 6 Minnesota, the highest-ranked opponent in program

history.

For the second-time in as many days, Kansas forced a nationally-ranked team to five sets.

Squaring off against No. 6 Minnesota in the first Saturday match at the Clarion

Inn-vitational, the Jayhawks refused to let the opportunity pass and proceeded to take down

their second top-10 opponent in as many seasons.

The Jayhawks received double-digit kill efforts from senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield,

redshirt sophomore middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc and freshman outside hitter Sara McClinton

en route to taking down the team who has two sweeps against top-10 Texas already this

season.

No. 1 California 3, Sacramento State 0
No. 1 California 3, Georgetown 0
BERKELEY, Calif -- In set three versus Sacramento State, California laid down an iron net

with a 13-0 run to start the set, earning a three-set sweep of the Hornets in the Hilton

Garden Inn Classic on Saturday. The Golden Bears hit .312 while limiting Sac State to .041

overall and -.053 in set three. Tarah Murrey had a season-high 21 kills for an incredible

24.5 points in addition to seven digs. Kat Brown was next in line with seven kills for a

squad-best .700 along with a team-high three block assists.

With their 10th consecutive victory and fourth win of the weekend in a 3-0 sweep of

Georgetown, No. 1 California won the Hilton Garden Inn Classic on Saturday evening. Further

earning herself tournament MVP status, Tarah Murrey had a match-high 12 kills (3e, 34att,

.265) to help roll the Bears to victory.

No. 10 Texas 3, No. 2 Penn State 2
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- In a match which began much like the 2009 NCAA National Championship

match, Texas fought off a Penn State comeback for a 3-2 win.

Penn State out-hit, out-killed, out-served, out-dug and out-blocked the Longhorns. The

Nittany Lions totaled 61 kills on .217 hitting, 10 aces, 69 digs and 13.5 total team blocks.

Texas finished the match with 50 kills on .152 hitting, nine aces, 62 digs and 13.0 team

blocks.

The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the match, but a 4-1 run by the Longhorns

had the score knotted at 6-6. Two blocks put Texas up by two, 8-6, but kills by Grant,

McClendon and Hancock had the score at 10 all. Each team tallied a kill before three

straight Longhorn points gave Texas a 14-11 lead.

No. 3 Stanford 3, No. 7 Florida 2
STANFORD, Calif. -- Third-ranked Stanford topped No. 7 Florida, 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25,

15-13, Saturday, in the tournament championship of the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic at

Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal (6-0) completes an undefeated preseason for the second

consecutive year, while the Gators fall to 7-2.

Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Williams was named the tournament's MVP. A Los Gatos,

Calif., native, she posted a double-double, her third of the season, with 23 kills and 14

digs. Sophomore Carly Wopat finished with 13 kills, six digs and six blocks, while junior

middle blocker Jessica Walker tallied nine kills, three blocks and three service aces.

No. 4 Illinois 3, Cal Poly 1
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- It took a pair of stellar performances from Illinois' middle

blockers, Erin Johnson and Anna Dorn, for Illini to come away with a 3-1 victory against Cal

Poly on Saturday afternoon. The Orange and Blue remain unblemished, improving to 8-0 overall

after the win at Alumni Memorial Gym. Johnson hit .636, posting 15 kills in 22 swings, while

Dorn hit .579, connecting on 12 kills in 19 attempts.

"It wasn't our prettiest match, but we found a way to pull it out," head coach Kevin Hambly

said.

Kansas upsets No. 6 Minnesota

U.S. Women Honored as USOC Team of the Month

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team has been named the United States Olympic

Committee’s (USOC) Team of the Month for August. In addition, Destinee Hooker (San Antonio,

Texas) finished third in voting for USOC Female Athlete of the Month.

The U.S. Women won the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix, the premier annual women’s international

volleyball tournament, to defend its title from a year ago. Team USA defeated top-ranked

Brazil in three sets in the gold-medal match on Aug. 28. The Americans finished the

preliminary round with an 8-1 record and in second-place in the 16-team tournament. During

the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round, the U.S. Women swept Japan and Italy in pool play

before a four-set loss to Brazil as both teams had already secured semifinal berths. Team

USA topped Serbia 3-0 in the semifinal round before its 26-24, 25-20, 25-21 victory over

Brazil in the gold-medal match. The Americans, ranked second in the world by the FIVB, won

10 of its 14 tournament matches in straight sets with an overall 12-2 record. Along with its

victory over No. 1 Brazil, the U.S. posted two victories each over No. 4 Japan, No. 5 Italy

and No. 6 Serbia.

The U.S. roster that competed in the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round included middle

blockers Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.), Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Christa

Harmotto (Hopewell, Pa.) and Jennifer Tamas (Milpitas, Calif.). Outside hitters were Kim

Glass (Lancaster, Pa.), Megan Hodge (Durham, N.C.), Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) and Logan

Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah). Setters were Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) an Alisha Glass (Leland,

Mich.), while opposites were Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) and Nancy Metcalf (Hull,

Iowa). The libero were Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) and Tama Miyashiro (Kaneohe, Hawaii).

Hugh McCutcheon (Christchurch, New Zealand) serves as the head coach for the U.S. Women’s

National Volleyball Team and his assistants are Karch Kiraly (San Clemente, Calif.), Paula

Weishoff (Irvine, Calif.) and Jamie Morrison (Dana Point, Calif.). Jill Wosmek is the

athletic trainer for the team, while Ken Sullivan (Laguna Beach, Calif.) served as the team

leader for the FIVB World Grand Prix.

“As a team, it is a great honor to be recognized among so many great teams representing

their country,” said Tamas, the U.S. captain. “We have been working so hard this year as we

progress toward our goal of qualifying for the Olympic Games. To be recognized by both the

USOC and fans in the voting process makes this progress we are making really special.”

Hooker was named the most valuable player of the 2011 FIVB World Grand Prix. She finished

the FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round with 101 points for second in overall scoring. She

totaled 90 kills, eight blocks and three aces, according to official FIVB stats. Hooker also

ranked fourth in Best Spiker with a 42.1 kill percent (90 kills on 214 attacks), 11th in

Best Blocker with 0.44 blocks per set and 13th in Best Server with -.17 aces per set. The

Final Round consisted of three pool play matches, the semifinals and medal matches.

During the entire tournament counting the nine preliminary round matches, Hooker totaled 228

points (199 kills, 21 blocks, 8 aces). She converted 44.3 percent of her attacks with a .356

hitting efficiency.

“I give all the credit to my teammates,” Hooker said in reference to earning the most

valuable player award at the FIVB World Grand Prix. “My individual awards and honors do not

mean as much to me in comparison as to how well our team does. The main outcome was winning

the World Grand Prix for the second year in a row. As a team, we played well all the way to

the end. In the end it was nice to have revenge wins versus Serbia and Brazil after losing

to them earlier in four sets.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team is currently in Caguas, Puerto Rico, getting set to compete

in the 2011 NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship. The top two teams in the nine-team

tournament advance to the FIVB World Cup, which is the first 2012 Olympic Games

qualification event with the three podium finishers earning tickets to London. After a bye

in Pool B on Sept. 12, the U.S. opens competition against Canada on Sept. 13 at

approximately 8:10 p.m. Puerto Rico Time (5:10 p.m. Pacific Time) with the time being

adjusted due to local television. The Americans conclude pool play against Trinidad & Tobago

on Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. Puerto Rico Time (1 p.m. Pacific Time). The top two pool winners

advance directly to the semifinal round on Sept. 16, while the three second-place teams join

the third-best pool winner in the quarterfinal round on Sept. 15. The final classifications

will be take place on Sept. 17.

Track athlete Carmelita Jeter was named the USOC Female Athlete of the Month as she ran a

time of 10.90 seconds to win gold in the women’s 100-meter at the IAAF World Championships

in Daegu, South Korea. She also won silver in the 200 and gold in the 4x100 relay.

For the USOC Athlete and Team of the Month, each National Governing Body may nominate one

female, one male and one team per discipline. A voting panel selects the winners from the

pool of nominees, with online fan voting via Twitter accounting for 10 percent of the total

vote.

U.S. Women Honored as USOC Team of the Month

Turning Heads on Volleyball Court

Roethlisberger now a two-net star Sooner basketball star now Turning Heads on Volleyball Court.

Carlee Roethlisberger’s basketball career may have ended, but she is still spending her time on a hardwood court at Oklahoma, there’s just a different ball and bigger net now.

Roethlisberger was a key player for the highly-successful Sooners’ women’s basketball program over the past four years, and a part of a senior class that compiled a 104-37 record and advanced to the Women’s Final Four in 2009 and ’10. A native of Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger finished her basketball career with 139 games played – the third-most in Big 12 history.

“With volleyball, while I’m giving everything I have and I want to do great for them, they know I haven’t played in four years. I can play more carefree and give everything I have and have fun with it”

-- Carlee Roethlisberger

But Roethlisberger was not quite ready to hang up her Sooners’ jersey, so this 6-1 forward decided to try her hand at a sport she had given up four years earlier.

“It was a tough choice to pick between basketball and volleyball when I first started college,” Roethlisberger said. “As basketball winded down, I thought about volleyball, and was blessed that I was still healthy and could move pretty well. I figured if I could have a second chance to do it, why not while I still can.”

The decision was something Oklahoma head volleyball coach Santiago Restrepo had been hoping would eventually happen one day.

“Every time I saw her in the athletics department, I would always say, ‘don’t forget about volleyball,’” Restrepo said. “’Don’t forget you can play for us.’ I was kind of planting the seed so that in her fifth year, she could actually come back and play volleyball, and she did.”

After basketball season ended last March, Roethlisberger, a former high school volleyball star, made her first serious attempt in four years to play the sport during the Sooners’ spring practices.

“In my first four years at Oklahoma, there were maybe three times that I was out in the sand messing around,” Roethlisberger said. “Besides that, I had done absolutely nothing with volleyball. Those three weeks that I practiced with them in the spring was like my trial period. I knew I wasn’t going to be great, but if I could go out there and get the hang of things, then I was going to play in the fall. I didn’t go out there and swing and miss, so that was a good sign.”

Restrepo says his new middle blocker has a very good jump and long arms that allow her to

penetrate well and get a lot of touches on blocking.

“Her ability to move from side to side because of her athleticism -- not too many people are

able to do that and still be close enough to block,” Restrepo said. “She needs to work on

her reads and knowing where the setter is going to go with the ball, but once she gets that,

she’s very fast to defend.”

And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that Roethlisberger hails from an athletically gifted

family. Her father Ken played quarterback at Georgia Tech, and her mother Brenda spent one

season on the Northwest Missouri State women’s basketball team. Not to mention,

Roethlisberger’s brother Ben is the starting quarterback for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers

and has led his team to a pair of Super Bowl titles in 2005 and ’08.

Roethlisberger, who has played in each of the No. 16 Sooners’ first four matches, leads the

team in total blocks (16) and blocks per set (1.60), but is the first to acknowledge she

needs work on the fundamentals of the sport.

“I just watched volleyball film for the first time the other day,” Roethlisberger said. “I

had absolutely no idea what I was looking for. They handed me these sheets and it was pretty

confusing. In high school, there was a little bit of strategy behind volleyball, but nothing

compared to what it is now. You really need that to beat the good teams.”

Restrepo sees Roethlisberger improving every time she steps on the court.

“It’s hard to not play for four years, and then come back to it,” Restrepo said. “I think

the more she gets acquainted with everybody and the skills, the better she becomes.”

When Roethlisberger played her first volleyball match against SMU on Aug. 26, her parents

flew down to be there, and her basketball teammates made shirts with her face and number in

support.

“I wasn’t really nervous because I’ve played in some big games with basketball,”

Roethlisberger said. “They had a lot of confidence in me, and that made me more confident in

myself. It’s a different feeling than basketball.

“With basketball I stressed about a lot of things because I wanted to be great at it. The

expectations from my coaches and teammates were really high. With volleyball, while I’m

giving everything I have and I want to do great for them, they know I haven’t played in four

years. I can play more carefree and give everything I have and have fun with it.”

While she may be taking a different personal approach on the court these days,

Roethlisberger’s expectations for the volleyball program are still high. Last year, the

Sooners advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years and for the first

time were awarded hosting duties for the first and second round. Oklahoma also reached the

NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the third time in program history.

“[With Oklahoma] basketball, you go into the season expecting to win a national

championship,” Roethlisberger said. “It was a standard that we had set for ourselves over

the years. In volleyball, I see the same type of thing building.”

Roethlisberger may only be a part of the program’s climb for a short time as she is in her

final year of eligibility, her coaches and teammates are glad to have her on their journey

this season.

“She’s very savvy, and an extremely gifted athlete,” Restrepo said. “This only happens with

a very gifted athlete -- switching sports and not losing a beat.”

Turning Heads on Volleyball Court

Roethlisberger now a two-net star Sooner basketball star now Turning Heads on Volleyball Court.

Carlee Roethlisberger’s basketball career may have ended, but she is still spending her time on a hardwood court at Oklahoma, there’s just a different ball and bigger net now.

-- Carlee Roethlisberger

But Roethlisberger was not quite ready to hang up her Sooners’ jersey, so this 6-1 forward decided to try her hand at a sport she had given up four years earlier.

The decision was something Oklahoma head volleyball coach Santiago Restrepo had been hoping would eventually happen one day.

Restrepo says his new middle blocker has a very good jump and long arms that allow her to

penetrate well and get a lot of touches on blocking.

Turning Heads on Volleyball Court

Roethlisberger now a two-net star Sooner basketball star now Turning Heads on Volleyball Court.

Carlee Roethlisberger’s basketball career may have ended, but she is still spending her time on a hardwood court at Oklahoma, there’s just a different ball and bigger net now.

-- Carlee Roethlisberger

But Roethlisberger was not quite ready to hang up her Sooners’ jersey, so this 6-1 forward decided to try her hand at a sport she had given up four years earlier.

The decision was something Oklahoma head volleyball coach Santiago Restrepo had been hoping would eventually happen one day.

Restrepo says his new middle blocker has a very good jump and long arms that allow her to

penetrate well and get a lot of touches on blocking.

U.S. Women Sweep of Canada to Open NORCECA

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team defeated Canada 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 Tuesday

evening during Pool B of the NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship being held Sept. 12-17

in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

The U.S., ranked second in the world by the FIVB, concludes its three-team round-robin pool

versus Trinidad & Tobago (0-1) on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Puerto Rico Time (1 p.m. Pacific

Time). Earlier in the tournament Canada defeated Trinidad & Tobago in four sets and finished

the pool with a 1-1 record as it has a bye on Wednesday.

Should Team USA finish as either the first or second-best pool winner after Wednesday’s

matches, it will advance directly to the semifinal round on Sept. 16. The third-best pool

winner will join the second-place pool finishers in the quarterfinals on Sept. 15. The

NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship concludes on Sept. 17 with the final classification

matches. The event’s gold and silver medalist will earn tickets to the 2011 FIVB World Cup,

the first 2012 Olympic Games qualification event, being staged Nov. 4-18 in Japan.

The U.S. broke a 7-7 tie in the opening set with three unanswered points and stretched the

lead to 22-14 before holding off Canada 25-19 down the stretch. In the second set, the

Americans rebounded from an 8-6 deficit with a 5-0 run and built a seven-point cushion at

21-14. Canada made the set interesting by closing to within three at 21-18 before the U.S.

was able to finish the set at 25-19. Canada recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the third set

and took an 8-6 lead into the technical timeout, only to have the Americans cruise to a

19-10 advantage on a 13-2 run. Canada did not go away quietly as it scored eight unanswered

points to move to within one at 23-22 before the U.S. could side-out to the 25-23 victory.

“I thought Canada played a good match,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Hugh

McCutcheon said. “I thought we were good in a couple phases of the game. Offensively, we

could have been cleaner at the net. It was an okay start to the tournament, but we need to

be better tomorrow."

The U.S. was led by Destinee Hooker’s (San Antonio, Texas) 18 points on 16 kills via 34

attacks and two blocks. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) tallied 10 points with seven kills

on 25 attacks and three aces, while Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) charted 10 points on

six kills via 10 swings, two blocks and two aces. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) collected

eight kills and a block for nine points, followed by Foluke Akinradewo’s (Plantation, Fla.)

eight points all on kills. Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) rounded out the scoring with an ace.

Berg was credited with 24 assists on 86 attempts as the Americans converted 45 of 112

attacks for a 40.2 percent. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) contributed a match-high 14

digs, while Hooker added seven digs. Larson charted 18 excellent receptions on 25 attempts,

while Tom recorded 11 excellent receptions on 22 attempts.

The U.S. limited Canada to a 29.7 kill percent for the match and held a 35-28 margin in

digs.

“I think we can come away from today’s match happy with our serve-receive,” U.S. captain

Jennifer Tamas said. “I hope we can improve in all facets of our game as we go along in the

tournament.”

“We allowed Canada to come back in all three sets to make the score closer, but a win is a

win,” Berg said. “Tomorrow against Trinidad & Tobago will be a different match. It is always

harder to set our rhythm against a team that is not as strong, but that will be something we

have to work on. Our goal will be to get in-and-out as quickly as possible.”

Canada out-blocked the Americans 11-5 to offset the Team USA 45-33 advantage in kills. The

U.S. held a 6-1 margin in aces and committed three fewer errors at 19-16.

McCutcheon started Tom and Larson at outside hitter, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker,

Hooker at opposite and Berg at setter. Davis was the designated libero for the match.

Sarah Pavan led Canada with 17 points with 15 kills, a block and ace. Marisa Field added

eight points in the loss, including a match-high four blocks.

“I thought we played well today,” Canada captain Tammy Mahon said. “I think we fixed some

things from yesterday’s performance. USA doesn’t give away too many points, so you have to

play well against them.”

“Congratulations to USA – they played really well today,” Canada coach Arnd Ludwig said. “We

had a better performance today than yesterday, and I am happy overall with our performance.”

Earlier today, Mexico (1-0) defeated Costa Rica (0-2) 25-21, 21-25, 25-11, 25-17 in Pool A

and Cuba (1-0) topped Panama (0-2) 25-13, 25-15, 25-7 in Pool C.

The U.S. took an early 5-3 lead in the opening set with a Hooker block and kill around a

Canadian error after trailing 3-2. After Canada came back to tie the set at 7-all,

Akinradewo started a 3-0 run with a kill followed by a Berg ace and Hooker kill to send the

score to 10-7. Tom and Larson notched consecutive kills to reach the second technical

timeout leading 16-12. After a Canada error, Hooker put up a block and Larson followed with

consecutive kills to push the score to 22-14. Canada rallied to 23-19 with a 5-1 scoring

spurt before Bown tallied consecutive blocks to end the set at 25-19.

Tom scored an ace between kills from Hooker and Larson to yield a 3-1 American lead in the

second set. Canada scored three straight points to nab a 5-4 advantage and reached the first

technical timeout leading 8-6 with three consecutive points. Out of the break, the Americans

scored five unanswered points with two kills from Akinradewo, a kill by Tom and ace by Bown

after a Canada error for an 11-8 margin. After Canada closed the gap to 11-10, Tom, Hooker

and Akinradewo pocketed kills followed by a Canada error to extend the American lead to

15-10. Team USA’s advantage reached seven points at 21-14. Canada produced four unanswered

points to move to within 21-18 before the U.S. could close out the set 25-19.

Hooker scored the first three points of the third set, only to have Canada shift into the

lead at 7-5 with a 7-2 run. After trailing 8-6 at the first technical timeout, Bown and Tom

turned in kills around two Canadian errors for an 11-8 advantage. The U.S. widened the gap

to 14-9 with kills from Hooker and Akinradewo around another Canada error. Tom highlighted a

5-0 surge with an ace bringing the American lead to 19-10. After trading points until 23-14,

Canada stormed back to within one at 23-22 with eight straight points put could not knot the

score. Hooker ended the set at 25-23 with a kill.