USA finish with Women’s Olympic silver

London, Great Britain, August 11 2012 —After the real setback they had suffered in the opening set that ended for Brazil with the worst score ever since the introduction of the rally point system, only a few were keen to pick out the 2008 Olympic champions as the eventual winners of the gold medal at Earls Court.

However, they eventually stormed back stepping up their quality and intensity to finally stop the American scoring machine and go for a well-deserved 3-1 win (11-25, 25-17, 25-20, and 25-17) to strike gold and let their many fans erupt in joyful celebrations. Jaqueline Carvalho played her best game in London right by the moment it counted the most, totalling 18 points at the end of the match, with three more – Sheilla Castro, Fabiana Claudino and Fernanda Rodrigues – finishing in double figures.

USA’ offense got somehow stuck after a brilliant first set with their best attacker, Destinee Hooker, being controlled by the Brazilian block and ending up by chipping in with 14 points. With Team USA settling for their third silver medal at the Olympics, this result expands Brazil’s medal collection to four, with two gold and two bronze medals included in their unique showcase. Additionally, Brazil are the sole team capable of claiming back-to-back crowns together with the Soviet Union (1968 and 1972) and Cuba (that actually got three through 1992-2000).