June 17, 2003

Nizhnyi Tagil, Russia - Ruirui Zhao scored 19 points to lead a balanced attack as China posted a 3-2 win over the USA women's national volleyball team in the championship semifinals at the Eltsin Cup tournament in Russia Sunday night.

Zhao had 16 kills, two service aces and one block in the 29-27, 25-27, 25- 20, 25-27, 15-13 victory for the Chinese, the second in 10 days over the Americans^~both in five sets.

Yanan Liu scored 17 points, Hao Yang and Jinling Chu each added 14 points and Suhong Zhou tallied 10 for China, which will meet Russia in the championship match on Monday night.

Five players scored in double-figures for the United States, led by Nancy Metcalf with 20 points and Logan Tom with 19. Team USA, which lost to China in pool play of the Montreux Volley Masters on June 6, plays Azerbaijan for third place on Monday.

"Our team played better tonight overall, but we struggled to convert on key transition plays," said Metcalf (Hull, Iowa/Nebraska), who had 18 kills and two aces. "We expected another tough match with China, and we know they are a very good sideout team.

"We can take several things out of the match to work on, including finishing the play on an out-of-system ball," she added. "Our next immediate goal is to play well and win in the third-place match on Monday."

Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah/Stanford) had 16 kills, two blocks and one ace for the Americans, who fell to 4-5 on the season.

Danielle Scott (Baton Rouge, La./Long Beach State) scored 16 points on 15 kills and one block in the loss, while Sarah Noriega (Ulysses, Kan./Loyola Marymount) scored 14 points on 11 kills and a team-high three blocks.

Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif./Hawai'i) chipped in with 13 points on 12 kills and one block for the United States, who earned a silver medal at the 2002 World Championships.

"Tonight's match was back and forth, at times dead even and other times with momentum changes," said setter Lindsey Berg (Honolulu, Hawaii/Minnesota). "But the outcome of the match came down to the crucial points at the end of the games. Unfortunately, China played better at crucial times.

"We will continue to work on the things we did not execute and learn from each match," Berg added. "We will use each match to get better and help us with our ultimate goal of qualifying for the Olympics."

courtesy of USA Volleyball