German women's volleyball team eye Olympics after beating USA
Germany’s women volleyball team celebrated a sensational victory in Japan on Wednesday, beating the world cup favourites USA 3-0 and getting into a good position to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
“We managed to do something really extraordinary and win against what is currently the best team in the world; I thank my women for that,” said coach Giovanni Guidetti after the match in Toyama which was settled 32:30, 25:19 and 26:24.
The German team is on a roll, with this its fourth victory in five world cup games. The Germans have 11 points and now stand fourth, just one point from third position which would mean an Olympic qualification.
They travel to Okoyama on Thursday where they are clear favourites in matches against Algeria, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. Guidetti said he was positive. “I think we can draw confidence from this match,” he said.
During the third set in the match the Germans were five points behind, yet managed to recover, keeping their heads and concentrating on the game. “I am really proud of our match. Even when we were four or five points behind, we still managed to turn the game around,” said game-maker Margareta Kozuch.
The Americans had only conceded one set in the entire tournament until they came up against the Germans. “I was impressed how concentrated my players remained,” said Guidetti. “It is an honour for me to be the trainer of this team. We never lost faith in ourselves, not for a second.”
American coach Hugh McCutcheon said, “I thought we were good, but today we were not good enough.”
Defending world cup champions Italy are back at the top of the rankings after the USA's defeat. USA and China are joint second, one point ahead of Germany.
DPA/The Local/hc
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“We managed to do something really extraordinary and win against what is currently the best team in the world; I thank my women for that,” said coach Giovanni Guidetti after the match in Toyama which was settled 32:30, 25:19 and 26:24.
The German team is on a roll, with this its fourth victory in five world cup games. The Germans have 11 points and now stand fourth, just one point from third position which would mean an Olympic qualification.
They travel to Okoyama on Thursday where they are clear favourites in matches against Algeria, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. Guidetti said he was positive. “I think we can draw confidence from this match,” he said.
During the third set in the match the Germans were five points behind, yet managed to recover, keeping their heads and concentrating on the game. “I am really proud of our match. Even when we were four or five points behind, we still managed to turn the game around,” said game-maker Margareta Kozuch.
The Americans had only conceded one set in the entire tournament until they came up against the Germans. “I was impressed how concentrated my players remained,” said Guidetti. “It is an honour for me to be the trainer of this team. We never lost faith in ourselves, not for a second.”
American coach Hugh McCutcheon said, “I thought we were good, but today we were not good enough.”
Defending world cup champions Italy are back at the top of the rankings after the USA's defeat. USA and China are joint second, one point ahead of Germany.
DPA/The Local/hc
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