Hill Leads USA to the Crown at VNL
NANJING, China, July 1, 2018 - The USA were crowned the
first-ever FIVB Volleyball Nations League champions on Sunday
night after an epic 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-15, 15-7)
victory over a resilient Turkey, and an inspired 20-point
performance from Kimberly Hill.
Befitting a tournament that has provided so many thrills, the
VNL final threw up one for the ages as the momentum switched and
both teams dug deep into their energy reserves. But it was the
reigning world champions who prevailed after a match that
stretched over two hours, with wing spiker Hill's tally
including 16 kills, a stuff and three super aces.
It was an inspired piece of coaching from the American brains
trust to throw Hill into the fray from the substitutes' bench in
the first set - as Turkey gained the early ascendency. She
combined brilliantly with the American's standout in the finals
in wing spiker Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (18 points) and with her
captain Jordan Larson as they settled the USA's nerves when they
fell behind - twice - and then powered them to glory. Larson
herself finished with 15 points.
The Turks were gallant in defeat and had their own shining
lights in both opposite spiker Meryem Boz and middle blocker Eda
Erdem Dündar, who scored 20 points apiece.
Coach Karch Kiraly had the USA primed as the form team of the
VNL finals. They'd come in with the best record (13-2) from
preliminary play and then had that win over Turkey, followed by
a 3-0 result against Serbia before beat hosts China 3-1 in the
semis. In the end there was no denying the world champions as
they wrote themselves into the VNL history books.
Summary of Results in Final Round
Pool A
China d Netherlands 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18)
Brazil d Netherlands 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-23)
Brazil d China 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22)
Pool B
United States d Turkey 3-2 (17-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-11)
Turkey d Serbia 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 16-14)
United States d Serbia 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-19)
Semifinals
Turkey d Brazil 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-22)
United States d China 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 25-18)
Bronze Medal
China d Brazil 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-22)
Gold Medal
United States d Turkey 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-15, 15-7) |