JIANGMEN, South China, June 13-- The USA stunned China in straight sets at FIVB women's volleyball Nations League here on Thursday, ending the hosts' nine-game winning streak. Kelsey Robinson and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley scored 20 points each for the USA. Zhu Ting scored 13 points for China. "Our opponents played a great match and they deserved the win," China's coach Lang Ping said after the match. "They had a very high percentage in their attacking and we could do very little to stop them," she added. The USA started the match strongly with a 4-0 run. Bartsch-Hackley contributed nine points to gift the Americans a 25-17 win in the first set. China bounced back in the second set and led 9-8 after the technical timeout. But Robinson stood out to score with her powerful spike, helping the USA lead the set 24-20. The Americans converted the third set point to win it 25-22. The third set was intense and the score seesawed to 19-19. Bartsch-Hackley and Robinson once again stood out to score, lifting the Americans to a 21-19 lead. The USA held their advantage to a 24-21 lead before finishing with a block. "We had a great respect for Team China, and for their great coaching staff and great players, it is a great match and we are getting ready for next week," USA coach Kiraly Karch said. "It is a good opportunity for us to learn from our opponents, hopefully we could make improvements through matches like today," Lang said. |