USA sit atop of women’s Pool B

London, Great Britain, August 1, 2012 – Top world-ranked United States took sole possession of first place in Pool B following their 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 31-29) well battled triumph over No. 3 China in a match between teams with unbeaten win-loss record on Wednesday.

It was the eighth consecutive victory for USA over China who last defeated the Americans in the 2007 World Grand Prix. The Americans, who held a 10-8 advantage in the blocking department, improved to 3-0 while China saw their mark fall to 2-1.

Destinee Hooker and Megan Hodge hammered 22 and 18 points respectively to top the American attack while Foluke Akinradewo and Logan Tom chipped in with 10 and 9. Zheng Chunlei had 10 for China and teammate Chu Junling added nine points.

Japan 3, Dominican Republic 0

Japan defeated Dominican Republic in straight sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-23) to improve their win-loss record to 2-1 in Pool A of the women’s volleyball Olympic tournament on Wednesday. The Japanese utilized their traditional fast pace and game variety to inflict Dominican Republic their third loss in as many outings. The defeated side made 22 unforced errors compared to 11 by the winners.

Yukiko Ebata and Saori Kimura topped the score charts of Japan with 14 and 13 points respectively while Ai Otomo and Mai Yamaguchi contributed 9 and 8 in the balanced offence of the Asian side. Dominican Republic’s Prisilla Rivera and Bethania De La Cruz finished with 16 and 15 respectively.