Aug. 15, 2007
BANGKOK, Thailand - Courtesy of the USOC
The U.S. Men's Volleyball Team held off the Ukraine on Wednesday night, recording a 3-2 win to advance to the semifinals at the 2007 Summer World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Team USA won 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 27-29, 15-8, and will face Turkey tomorrow night.
"We got off to a really good start," said head coach Alan Knipe (Long Beach State). "You know when you're up 2-0 on a team in the medal rounds, you're going to get their best shot in Game 3. We knew they were going to hit their serves as hard as they could and go for broke. They gained the momentum and it took a while for us to get it back. But, we played fairly well towards the end of Game 4, and in Game 5, we were as clean as we could possibly be."
While the Ukraine kept the first two sets close, the U.S. gained the advantage and held on in the second half of both sets. In the third, Team USA pulled ahead 6-2 early and led by as many as six points when momentum shifted and the Ukraine tied the score at 14-14. The U.S. was unable to recover, falling 22-25.
Despite keeping the score within three points throughout the fourth set, Team USA never truly gained the upper hand and only ever held a one-point advantage. The squad fell 27-29, forcing the match to a fifth set. At that point, momentum had shifted back into the hands of Team USA which opened with a 7-2 run and closed out the game with the 15-8 victory.
"We had stretches where we were really good and we had stretches where we kind of fell apart a little bit," said Matt Proper (Meadville, Pa./Penn State). "The third set we let up a little in the middle, and that kind of gave them some momentum going into the fourth set. It was good that we were able to focus and buckle down in the fifth."
Proper started at opposite and recorded 18 points, sharing the team lead with outside hitter Robert Tarr (Cape Canavarel, Fla./Long Beach State). Proper collected 15 points on kills, two blocks and added an ace, while Tarr posted 17 kills and one block. Starting outside hitter Paul Lotman (Lakewood, Calif./Long Beach State) also added 17 points on 16 kills and one block.
"Proper's a very good volleyball player, he just happens to be playing in a spot where there's also another very good player," said Knipe on starting Proper. "I was really glad we played Matt against Taipei because he didn't have any first-match jitters. I thought he had a great match, and it was just a tremendous effort by him."
The U.S. will face Turkey tomorrow night in the semifinals at 7 p.m. The game will be played at the Sports Authority of Thailand, Indoor Stadium.
For complete results, visit www.bangkok2007.com .
The 2007 Summer World University Games run from August 8-18. Team USA consists of 144 athletes - 68 women and 76 men. Overall, more than 140 countries are participating, and nearly 8,000 athletes competing. The World University Games or Universiade, which include both summer and winter versions, are held every two years for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 28. Eligible athletes must be registered for a full course of study at a university or have obtained their degrees within a year of the Games. The World University Games, sponsored by FISU, the International University Sport Federation, bring together top collegiate athletes from around the world for 11 days of competition in a multi-sport Olympic-style event. The U.S. entered the Summer World University Games for the first time in 1965 and hosted the 1993 Games in Buffalo, N.Y.