One of the many USA kill shots.Costa Rica is known for its beautiful scenery, coffee beans, and -- now -- for not practicing enough volleyball. A sparse crowd at the BankUnited Center watched the second-ranked United States team dismantle Costa Rica Friday night in the 2009 Women's Volleyball Pan-American Cup in straight sets; 25-7, 25-6, and 25-16.
"Congratulations to USA," said the coach of the Costa Rican squad, Willis Lando, to reporters. "They had a great match. Costa Rica always ha
The scrappy but shorter Peruvian team outblocked the U.S.Having won just five matches in 26 attempts againts the United States, Peru faced a challenge as daunting as trying to climb to Machu Picchu with one leg and a blindfold. But the scrappy 17th-ranked Peruvian squad gave the U.S. its toughest challenge of the tournament despite losing in three sets: 25-22, 25-21, and 26-24.
Drawing strength from supporters who never stopped chanting "O-le, ole, ole, ole -- Pe-ru, Pe-ru," the South
It took a total team effort to defeat a fired-up Puerto Rico."It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop ever, until you are dead."
That was said about Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator, but it also applies to the US women's volleyball team (except for the death part, but "kills" are part of volleyball) play in the World Championships here in Miami. The ladies absorbed everything Puerto Rico&
Puerto Rico dominated the net and will do the same against the Dominican Republic this afternoon.As a reward for a perfect 5-0 run through the first round of the Pan-American Cup, the US women's volleyball team had today off. But they could still be seen in the BankUnited Center scouting Thursday's 8 p.m. marquee match-up between Puerto Rico and Argentina.
IPuerto Rico defeated Argentina in four sets; 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, and 25-19. Making her case for tournament MVP,
Brazil brought the hammer down on Team USA's title dreams.Brazilians have a natural happy-go-lucky attitude and have a saying for when life gets difficult: "Tudo bem" basically is a combination of "it's all good" and "no worries." That carefree outlook was on display when a well-rested, undefeated US team playing on its homecourt punched the Brazilians squarely in the mouth by taking the first set from the reigning Olympic gold medalists.
But much like a seasoned heavyweigh
Aurea Cruz may have slender shoulders, but they were big enough to carry the whole Puerto Rican team to victory.Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points, Adrian Peterson's 296 rushing yards, and Roger Clemens' 20 strikeouts all prove that a single player can win a game in a team sport. While her name doesn't carry nearly as much weight as the aforementioned fellows, Puerto Rico's Aurea Cruz can be added to the list as she singlehandedly defeated the United States Saturday in four sets; 25-
