U.S. Women Blank Korea, Still Undefeated at World Cup

Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 11, 2007) – Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, La.) tallied 17 points with 13 kills on 15 errorless attacks as the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team blanked Korea 25-21, 25-19, 25-23 Sunday afternoon on the eighth day of the FIVB World Cup at Kumamoto, Japan.

Team USA, ranked eighth in the latest FIVB world ranking, improves to 8-0 at the FIVB World Cup. Korea falls to 2-6 in the tournament. The U.S. is tied atop the World Cup standings with Italy (8-0), which defeated Peru (1-7) in three sets today at Sapporo, Japan.

The FIVB Volleyball World Cup, held every four years in the preceding year to the Olympics, is the first of three Olympic qualification steps for Beijing 2008. The top three teams at the World Cup qualify for the 2008 Olympics. The FIVB World Cup is a 12-team event with a round-robin playing format of 11 matches in 15 days.

The U.S. chances for gaining one of the three available Olympic bids through the World Cup was aided by Poland (3-5) upsetting Serbia (6-2) 24-26, 25-23, 25-12, 19-25, 15-10 at Sapporo. The loss marked Serbia’s second of the tournament. Brazil is one loss behind Team USA and Italy in the standings, while Serbia, Cuba and Japan have two losses in the tournament.

“I think we prepared very well for today's game,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach ‘Jenny’ Lang Ping said. “We know Korea is a great team and they showed that with five sets against Cuba. We had trouble against Thailand so we really concentrated for today's game. The players did a good job. We still have difficult matches ahead and we need to concentrate to reach our goal and win as many games as possible.”

All 12 teams in the World Cup have the next two off days for travel before starting the fourth and final stage in Nagoya on Nov. 14. The U.S. faces Serbia on Nov. 14 at 4:35 p.m. local time (12:05 a.m. MT), followed by host Japan on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. local time (2 a.m. MT) and Italy on Nov. 16 at 3:05 p.m. local time (Nov. 15 at 11:05 p.m. MT).

Team USA went on a 5-2 run to break away from a 17-16 lead in the opening set to win 25-21. The U.S. opened up a 3-0 advantage in the second set and used a 4-0 run to widen the gap to 15-8 en route to winning 25-19. The Americans rallied from a 15-12 deficit in the third set and scored the final two points of the 25-23 victory. The final stanza involved 16 ties.

“We're very happy with the win,” Scott-Arruda said. “It was a great team win once again. Everyone played their roles and we played as a unit, and we were successful with that.”

The U.S. started Scott-Arruda and Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) at middle blocker, Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Kim Glass (Lancaster, Pa.) at outside hitter, Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) at opposite and Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu) at setter. Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) is Team USA’s designated libero for the World Cup. Lindsey Berg (Honolulu) and Cassie Busse (Prior Lake, Minn.) entered as subs in the first and third sets as part of a double-switch. Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) entered as a sub in the first and second sets.

“I think Korea played very well and they have a good defense,” Haneef-Park said. “We were able to win because of our serving and passing. We served much better than in the past few days, which took them out of their rhythm and they couldn't run as many combinations as usual. But it was still a tough match for us.”

Tom scored all her 19 points on kills, while adding 14 excellent service receptions on 22 attempts. Scott-Arruda added four blocks as part of her 17 points on the afternoon. Haneef-Park added nine kills, one block and an ace for 11 points. Glass chipped in six kills, one block and an ace on match point. Joines contributed two blocks and a kill for three points, while Ah Mow Santos tallied a block and ace for two points to go with 24 assists. Davis led the U.S. in digs with 13, while adding seven excellent receptions on 16 attempts.

“We're very happy with the win today,” Berg said. “We've finished the third round exactly as we wanted. Our goal was to win three games here and it didn't matter how. We now go to the fourth round with an 8-0 record and in a position to qualify (for the Olympics) and hopefully win the title. We're very happy to have taken care of business on our side.”

Team USA out-block Korea 9-3 on the afternoon, while holding a 48-43 advantage in kills. The Americans held a slim 3-2 edge in aces. The U.S. built a 33-25 margin in digs. Both teams benefited from 15 opponent errors.

Yeon-Koung Kim paced Korea with 17 points, while Yoo-Na Bae added 14 points. Yoo-Mi Han tacked on 10 points in the loss.

“It was a tough game because they've been winning all their games and they are very strong,” Korean Head Coach Lee Jung Chul said. “Today, their central players were very good and we couldn't control that. On the other hand, we've learned what we need to improve for the Nagoya games. I think lots of players in our team have good potential for the future and hopefully we will do better in the final round.”

Earlier today at Kumamoto, Cuba defeated Thailand 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-13, while Brazil faces Dominican Republic at 6:05 p.m. At Sapporo, Italy defeated Peru 25-13, 25-21, 25-17. Japan hosts Kenya at 6 p.m. to round out action at Sapporo.

Team USA matches during the FIVB World Cup can be seen on a delayed basis on NBC’s Universal HD network. For more details and broadcast times, click here for the release.

Joines turned in a kill and block on consecutive points to give the U.S. a 6-4, two-point cushion early in the opening set. Team USA extended its lead to three points, 10-7, on kills from Scott-Arruda and Tom. Haneef-Park put up a block after a Korea error to give the U.S. a 12-8 advantage. Korea cut the deficit to one point, 14-13, on a 4-1 scoring run. The U.S. answered by picking up consecutive Korean errors followed by a Scott-Arruda block for a 17-13 advantage. Korea responded with three straight points to narrow the gap to one point, 17-16. Scott-Arruda contributed a kill and block on back-to-back plays to lift the U.S. in front by three, 19-16. The U.S. traded points the rest of the set to take a 25-21 victory in the first set. Tom scored seven points for the Americans in the opening set, while Scott-Arruda added an additional six points.

Scott-Arruda scored consecutive kills to open the second set, followed by a Tom kill at 3-0 for Team USA. Ah Mow-Santos served an ace after a Korea error at 9-5. Team USA opened up a seven-point edge, 15-8, as Haneef-Park tallied a kill and ace around two Tom kills. Korea promptly scored two points in a row to narrow the deficit to five, 15-10. Glass and Scott-Arruda placed consecutive kills on the scoreboard for an 18-11 U.S. lead, but Korea answered with two points in a row to but the score at 18-13. Haneef-Park tallied a kill followed by a Scott-Arruda block and Glass kill to push the American lead to 22-14. Korea scored three consecutive points to close to within 23-18. Team USA stopped the bleeding with the final two points of the set with a kill and Korea error at 25-19. Tom netted six points in the second set and the U.S. benefited from seven Korean errors.

The U.S. gained a two-point cushion in the third set at 4-2 on consecutive Korean errors. Korea battled its way back into a 6-all tie. After trading 10 points, Korea went on a 5-1 run to take a 15-12 advantage. Glass answered with back-to-back kills to move the Americans to within one at 15-14. Scott-Arruda and Tom turned in consecutive kills to put the U.S. in a tie at 16-all. Joines stuffed a Korea attack after a Scott-Arruda kill to put the Americans in the lead at 19-18. The U.S. sided out until Haneef-Park scored a kill setting up Glass’ ace on match point, 25-23. Scott-Arruda carried the U.S. in the third set with seven points, while Tom added six points.

To view the Team USA press kit for the 2007 FIVB World Cup, go to http://www.usavolleyball.org/media/national/07WorldCupPressKit-W.pdf.

For additional information on the FIVB World Cup, two web sites have been created. To view the FIVB World Cup web site, click here. To view the Japan Volleyball Association's World Cup web site, click here.

U.S. Women’s National Team for FIVB World Cup
No. – Name (Pos., Hgt., School, Hometown)
1 - Ogonna Nnamani (OH, 6-1, Stanford, Normal, Illinois)
2 - Danielle Scott-Arruda (MB, 6-2, Long Beach State, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
3 - Tayyiba Haneef-Park (OH, 6-7, Long Beach State, Laguna Hills, California)
4 – Lindsey Berg (S, 5-8, Minnesota, Honolulu, Hawai’i)
5 – Stacy Sykora (L, 5-10, Texas A&M, Burleson, Texas)
6 – Logan Tom (OH, 6-1, Stanford, Salt Lake City, Utah)
7 - Heather Bown (MB, 6-3, Hawai’i, Yorba Linda, California)
9 - Jennifer Joines (MB, 6-3, Pacific, Milpitas, California)
10 - Kim Glass (OH, 6-3, Arizona, Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
11 - Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (S, 5-9, Hawai’i, Honolulu, Hawai’i)
15 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-6, Southern California, Stockton, California)
18 - Cassandra “Cassie” Busse (OPP, 6-1, Minnesota, Prior Lake, Minnesota)
Head Coach: “Jenny” Lang Ping
Assistant Coaches: Sue Woodstra, Yong Li, Tom Hogan
Team Manager: Kerry Klostermann
Technical Coordinator: Diane French
Technical Consultant: Darrell Akimoto
Team Doctor: Dr. Sherwin Ho
Medical Support: Emery Hill, Jr.

2007 FIVB World Cup Standings (Live Updated standings)

2007 FIVB World Cup Women’s Schedule

First Round

(at Tokyo)
11/2: Serbia def. Korea 25-21, 25-23, 25-15
11/2: Italy def. Thailand 25-14, 25-14, 25-16
11/2: Japan def. Dominican Republic 25-23, 25-18, 25-20
11/3: Serbia def. Thailand 25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 26-24
11/3: Italy def. Dominican Republic 25-17, 25-16, 25-17
11/3: Japan def. Korea 25-23, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16
11/4: Dominican Republic def. Thailand, 25-14, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 17-15
11/4: Italy def. Korea 25-15, 25-19, 25-22
11/4: Serbia def. Japan 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24

(at Hamamatsu)
11/2: Cuba def. Kenya 25-11, 25-18, 25-20
11/2: USA def. Peru 25-23, 25-14, 25-19
11/2: Brazil def. Poland 25-12, 25-20, 25-22
11/3: USA def. Cuba 20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 15-11
11/3: Poland def. Peru 25-17, 25-17, 25-16
11/3: Brazil def. Kenya 25-16, 25-7, 25-14
11/4: Peru def. Kenya 25-16, 25-9, 25-19
11/4: Brazil def. Cuba 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, 19-25, 15-11
11/4: USA def. Poland 25-21, 12-25, 27-25, 25-17

Second Round

(at Osaka)
11/6: Italy def. Serbia 23-25, 25-14, 16-25, 25-17, 15-7
11/6: Korea def. Dominican Republic 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21
11/6: Japan def. Thailand 25-19, 27-25, 25-14
11/7: Korea vs. Thailand, 12:35 p.m.
11/7: Serbia def. Dominican Republic 25-22, 25-14, 25-23
11/7: Italy def. Japan 25-18, 25-19, 25-14

(at Sendai)
11/6: USA def. Kenya 25-9, 25-20, 25-10
11/6: Cuba def. Poland 21-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13
11/6: Brazil def. Peru 25-17, 25-15, 25-17
11/7: Poland vs. Kenya, 12:35 p.m.
11/7: Cuba def. Peru 29-27, 25-19, 25-13
11/7: USA def. Brazil 17-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-9

Third Round

(at Sapporo)
11/9: Italy def. Poland 25-15, 25-15, 25-18
11/9: Serbia def. Kenya 25-15, 25-16, 25-10
11/9: Japan def. Peru 25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 25-19
11/10: Italy def. Kenya 25-13, 25-13, 25-5
11/10: Serbia def. Peru 25-15, 25-15, 25-23
11/10: Japan def. Poland 19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 15-12
11/11: Italy def. Peru 25-13, 25-21, 25-17
11/11: Poland def. Serbia 24-26, 25-23, 25-12, 19-25, 15-10
11/11: Japan vs. Kenya, 6 p.m.

(at Kumamoto)
11/9: Brazil def. Thailand 25-12, 25-13, 25-20
11/9: USA def. Dominican Republic 25-16, 20-25, 25-16, 25-18
11/9: Cuba def. Korea 25-20, 17-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-10
11/10: Cuba def. Dominican Republic 25-13, 25-27, 25-23, 25-18
11/10: USA def. Thailand 21-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-13
11/10: Brazil def. Korea 25-15, 25-17, 25-17
11/11: Cuba def. Thailand 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-13
11/11: USA def. Korea 25-21, 25-19, 25-23
11/11: Brazil vs. Dominican Republic, 6:05 p.m.

Fourth Round

(at Nagoya Site A)
11/14: Brazil vs. Italy, 2:05 p.m.
11/14: Serbia vs. USA, 4:35 p.m. (12:05 a.m. MT)
11/14: Japan vs. Cuba, 7:30 p.m.
11/15: Brazil vs. Serbia, 12:35 p.m.
11/15: Cuba vs. Italy, 3:05 p.m.
11/15: Japan vs. USA, 6 p.m. (2 a.m. MT)
11/16: Cuba vs. Serbia, 12:35 p.m.
11/16: Italy vs. USA, 3:05 p.m. (11:05 pm. MT on Nov. 15)
11/16: Japan vs. Brazil, 6 p.m.

(at Nagoya Site B)
11/14: Kenya vs. Thailand, 12:35 p.m.
11/14: Dominican Republic vs. Poland, 3:05 p.m.
11/14: Korea vs. Peru, 6:05 p.m.
11/15: Dominican Republic vs. Kenya, 12:35 p.m.
11/15: Peru vs. Thailand, 3:05 p.m.
11/15: Korea vs. Poland, 6:05 p.m.
11/16: Dominican Republic vs. Peru, 12:05 p.m.
11/16: Poland vs. Thailand, 2:35 p.m.
11/16: Kenya vs. Korea, 5:05 p.m.