U.S. Women Use Home Court Over Germany - Articles

The USA used a 15-2 ace advantage to defeat Germany for the second time in as many weekends of the FIVB World Grand Prix, this time winning 25-17, 24-26, 25-10, 25-23 on Friday evening in Long Beach, California. The USA improves to 3-1 in the FIVB World Grand Prix with nine points, while Germany falls to 0-4 through the fourth competition day. The Americans host Japan (1-3) on Saturday at 19:10 Pacific Time, while Germany takes on Turkey (2-2) at 17:10 Pacific Time. The U.S., competing in a rare tournament on home soil, played to the likings of 3,250 fans in the Walter Pyramid. “It was a great atmosphere. It was a special treat. We do not play many tournament matches in the USA. Obviously we had a World Grand Prix Finals week last year in Omaha, but beyond that we have not played a Grand Prix phase since 1996 – after a 20-year break. It is not something we are used to. This was even a bigger adjustment as we have not played a tournament in Southern California, staying at home, making commutes and just having a different experience. I don’t think we handled it well in the first two sets and we got a little better as we went along.” Karsta Lowe (Rancho Santa Fe, California) scored 20 points with 18 kills on 34 swings. Kim Hill (Plantation, Florida) added 19 points with 15 kills on 41 attacks. Kelsey Robinson (Bartlett, Illinois) added 12 points with six kills on 26 attacks, four aces and...

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