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With Stanford grads Foluke Akinradewo and Logan Tom each producing 14-point performances, the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team registered a 25-23, 25-20, 25-14 victory over Italy on Thursday during the second day of FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round competition in Ningbo, China.
Akinradewo had seven kills on 15 attempts and seven blocks. Tom collected 10 kills and 30 swings, two blocks and two aces while teammate Destinee Hooker totaled a match-high 17 points.
Team USA, now 2-0 in the Final Round and on an overall eight-match win streak, faces two-time defending champion Brazil on Friday in its next match before playing host China on Saturday. The FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round is a five-day, six-team round-robin event.
The U.S. broke a 12-all tie in the opening game with a 4-0 run and went on to win 25-23 as it picked up seven blocks in the period. Italy came back from a 17-11 deficit in the second game to be within one at 17-16, but the Americans outscored their opponent 8-4 down the stretch for a 25-20 victory. Team USA opened the third game with a commanding 9-1 lead and never looked back for a 25-14 victory.
Hooker paced the Americans with 16 kills on 32 attacks and a block for her 17 points. Stanford grad Cynthia Barboza was a serving sub in all three sets.
The U.S. dominated the net with a 15-to-4 block advantage over Italy while also having a 5-1 margin in aces. The Americans held a 43-38 lead in kills for the match. Italy converted just 31.5 percent of its attacks for points and held a .221 hitting efficiency for the match. Team USA tallied 42 excellent receptions on 55 attempts for a 74.6 percent, while Italian held a 54.4 excellent reception percent limiting its offensive ability in system.
— Palo Alto Online Sports/USA Volleyball
— Palo Alto Online Sports/USA Volleyball
— Palo Alto Online Sports/USA Volleyball