The United States settled at position No.1 in Pool B at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s volleyball tournament ahead of the quarterfinals, having great chances to stay there after the conclusion of the remaining games in the last round.
The United States beat Italy 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-16, 15-12) on the last day of the preliminary stage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s volleyball tournament, playing a more orderly and concrete match than its rival (both advanced to the quarterfinals earlier), which brought it to the first position in Pool B (10 points; 4-1). Staying there will depend on the outcome of a duel between the Russian Olympic Committee (8 points; 3-1) and Turkey (7 points; 2-2), scheduled later.
However, the bad news for the fans of the U.S. is coming from its camp: Jordan Thompson, the stellar of the team so far, missed the encounter today (wasn’t even in the protocol) due to the ankle injury she sustained against the ROC on Saturday, while the starting setter Jordyn Poulter got injured her right ankle in the third set today (badly landed on Foluke Akinradewo’s foot) and had to leave the court. As for Italy, losing the second match in a row after stringing three wins deprived it of having any chance of claiming No.1 in the pool.
Andrea Drews top-scored the United States with 22 points. Foluke Akinradewo and Haleigh Washington made 4 blocks apiece. Paola Egonu scored 28 for ‘Azzurrine’ but was on an unrecognizable level (19.3 % attack, 27/62) severely losing the blade in hitting after the first set, which 15 errors in the attack portray it in the best way.
In the match of no significance, not even for seeding, Serbia swept South Korea. The world champion will likely end up second in Pool A because it is hardly likely that Brazil will lose to Kenya, while Korea remained third in the pool and would have stayed there even if it beat Serbia today.
2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s volleyball tournament, group stage – last round:
Serbia – South Korea 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15)
USA – Italy 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-16, 15-12)
ROC – Turkey, 7:20 a.m. CET
China – Argentina, 9:25 a.m. CET
Japan – Dominican Republic, 12:40 p.m. CET
Brazil – Kenya, 2:45 p.m. CET
