Volleyball: Women thrilled with silver after loss to Brazil
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By Israel Gutierrez | Miami Herald
BEIJING - Not the Chinese crowd cheering U.S. coach Lang Ping's name, not the constant substitutions, not the relentless play of outside hitter Logan Tom.
None of it was enough to help the U.S. women's volleyball team end its unexpected Olympic experience on the ideal note.
Brazil, the No.1 ranked team in the world, was just that good.
In fact, that the U.S. was able to take a single set from the Brazilians was considered something of an accomplishment, because no other team in this tournament can say the same.
Despite losing 15-25, 25-18, 13-25, 21-25 to Brazil, the U.S. women matched their best ever Olympic performance, equaling the silver won in 1984. The U.S. also won a bronze in 1992.
"Everyone's a little bitter that we lost, but we don't have anything to be disappointed about," said Tom, who tried to lift her team past Brazil with a team-high 15 kills, nine digs and an ace. "I think all our girls are thinking like that. You see tears, but they're tears of happiness. We came a long way this tournament."
The Americans, ranked fourth in the world, were considered questionable medal contenders given their inability to break through in major international events over the past four years.
But playing under former Chinese national team member Lang Ping in her home country helped the team bond. And the tragic death of Todd Bachman, whose daughter Elisabeth is the wife of men's coach Hugh McCutcheon and a former U.S. Olympic team member, brought the team closer.
By the time the Americans reached the gold medal match, they had beaten five of the top nine ranked teams in the world, building the team's confidence to the point where it thought Brazil was beatable.
In the end, though, the Brazil block was just too formidable, sending back Tom's kill attempts for two of the last three points of the match.
"We had to play the No. 1 team in the world and we fought and we got a game off them and we actually could have taken them to five," said U.S. setter Lindsey Berg, who was one of several non-starters Ping played in an attempt to find the right combination. "We're just thrilled. It's hard that it ends with a loss, but we got a silver medal at the Olympic Games, nothing that anyone on our team has ever gotten, and it's just been a wonderful experience."
Adding to the experience was Ping's journey. She had coached the U.S. versus China before, but not at an Olympics. Though she would've preferred gold, which she won as a player with China in 1984, Ping was able to elevate the U.S. to silver status and watched China take bronze by defeating Cuba earlier in the day.
Throughout the match, the Chinese fans chanted "Lang Ping, let's go!" in their native language whenever the U.S. needed an emotional boost.
"I'm very lucky to have this crowd," said Ping, also known as Jenny to her team. "I've been off the court for a long time, retired from playing, so I'm very lucky to have this encouragement for me and my team."
Ping, who said her future plans include vacationing and spending time with her daughter, didn't say whether she would continue coaching the Americans after these Games.
After the loss, she hugged and congratulated each of her players individually, then gathered them in a huddle for more of the same.
"She's been our leader for four years," Berg said. "She took on a great team with a lot of potential. It was a little rusty in the beginning, but look where she got us. She took us to a silver medal."
Tom said she might return to beach volleyball, which she played during a three-year hiatus from the national team. And veterans like middle blocker Danielle Scott-Arruda and setter Robin Ah Mow-Santos likely won't play in another Olympics.
A team potentially on the verge of splitting apart had never been more together than it has the past two weeks.
"We definitely exceeded expectations of others, but deep down inside we knew we could be here," Berg said. "Definitely the tragedy with the Bachmans brought us even closer. Beating China brought us closer. We just kept growing from there and definitely improved as a team each match."
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