USA takes China in close match

(BEIJING, July 13) -- The United States defeated China 25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, and 17-15 on the fifth day of the final round of the World Grand Prix in Yokohama, Japan on Sunday. Team USA has now accumulated 7 points, thanks to this win. Later on today, Cuba is slated to go up against Italy and Brazil will face Japan.

The US volleyball team maintained a lead over China for almost the entire first set. The following set saw an early lead for the Americans, and with powerful blocks, team USA stayed ahead with a seven point lead later on. Although the Chinese tried to close the gap, they were unable to hold off the hard-hitting spikes of the American women.

The Chinese fought back hard in the third and fourth sets, rallying to hold off the US by surprising their rivals with well-placed hits and coordinated blocks. The girls danced in wonderful unison, playing off of each others' strengths to claim two wins to tie the Americans 2-2.

In the white-hot tie breaker, both the Americans and Chinese fought it out hard. It was tight throughout the set, as neither team would let the other take more than a 3 point lead. In the end, however, the Chinese lost the set (and thus the match) to the US, despite courageous efforts.

"It was a close game today. America played at a high level, but China's play was not as good. We could not play good offense or defense at important times, especially our defense in serve-reception," said team captain Feng Kun after the match. "America's offense was good."