They Saw All Obstacles in Their Way

“I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) sunshiny day.”  From the song “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash and later popularized by Jimmy Cliff.  Both China and USA saw their obstacles, and after some tribulations, overcame the dark clouds.

Pool H – China Outlasts Dominican Republic (22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23, and 15-12).

Dominican Republic won the first two sets, although both were highly contested, and appeared to be in control of the match.  China, however, refused to quit and eked out a 25 – 23 win in set three.  Set four was a seesaw battle with China once again gaining the upper hand and squeezing out another 25 – 23 victory.  With the score tied at two sets each, China used their momentum and won set five 15 – 12 to earn the match.

The fate of Pool H now rests solely on the Brazil versus Dominican Republic matchup tomorrow.  If Dominican Republic wins the match, China is eliminated.  If Brazil wins the match, the final standings of the pool will depend upon the score and the FIVB point system. Drat, I thought we were done with that point system.

Pool G – USA defeats Russia in Four Sets (25-19, 25-23, 15-25, and 25-23.  

In a must win match, the USA team rose to the challenge and defeated Russia for the second time in this tournament. In a roller coaster style match, USA out-hit Russia, 64 to 55 kills.  Russia, however, was dominant at the net and had a significant blocking advantage, 17 to 7 blocks.

In a similar scenario to Pool H, the fate of Pool G hinges on tomorrow’s contest between Italy and Russia.  If Italy wins the match, Russia is eliminated.  If Russia wins the match,
the final standings of the pool depend on the score and the FIVB point system.  Double drat, I wish we were done with that point system

Pool Rankings at end of Play, Thursday, October 9, 2014

Match Schedule for Friday, October 10, 2014

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.  I will publish the final Round 3 results and Saturday’s schedule tomorrow evening.

As always, let’s grow Volleyball together, Please!