The U.S.'s Tamara Foronda gets low for a bump from a blocked ball from Japan during the second period of the U.S.-Japan semifinal game Saturday at National Taiwan University Sports Center. The U.S. won, 3-1. (Photo by Jason Chiou)

Volleyball redeems itself with win against Japan

by Rachel Benedict on September 12, 2009

The Americans vindicated their Wednesday loss against Japan by defeating the same team, 3-1, during semifinals Saturday to advance into the women's volleyball finals. It was a sweet revenge after Japan defeated the U.S., 3-1, in round-robin play. The win was the first time the Americans defeated Japan since a round-robin match at the 2001 Deaflympics before Japan went on to beat the U.S. in the championship match at the same Games. The U.S. was able to contend against Japan's strength — defense — by wearing them out with strong hits. Through the sets, Japan began to fall apart. In the fourth set alone, the U.S. had four aces for a total of six. The Americans also have proved themselves a defensive team by ranking second in digs and blocks for the Deaflympic Games. Japan is first in digs, and Ukraine leads in blocks. "Both teams had good defense," head coach Lynn Ray Boren said. With decent defense from the U.S. and strong offense, the Americans were able to execute their game plan and advance to the finals. "We really executed our game plan, stayed patient, limited our mistakes and kept our composure," Setter Pia Marie Paulone said. Paulone had at least 45 assists, which gave the Americans the ability to execute offensively. "Paulone had one of her best matches ever," Boren said. Shana Lehmann and Tamara Foronda led the Americans' defense, rallying digs. Because of their consistent defense, the offense became strong with three players scoring two-figure kills. Kristina Burke led with 13 kills, Valerie Trofimenkoff and Foronda came in with ten kills each followed by Ludmila Mounty-Weinstock with eight kills and Katelyn Reese with six kills. "The defense gave us chances, our serve receiving was efficient, which made it easy for us to hit effectively," Burke said. The first set stayed close throughout, with Americans winning, 25-22, gaining momentum. That momentum became a big factor in the Americans' win, as they were able to maintain it throughout the match. The first set saw kills from everybody and seemed a solid win. In the second set, Japan came close and pushed the set to a 29-27 finish for the Americans. Long rallies were the norm not only in the second set, but in the entire match. Valerie Trofimenkoff and Tamara Foronda kills ended the second set. The third set went in favor of the Americans for a time as they gained a 8-4 lead before Japan came from behind to lead, 12-10. Once the score reached 13, it became a tie game for a while. The U.S. nabbed a three-point lead at 21, but Japan stole the lead when an American rotation error caused a point to be transferred from the U.S. to Japan. The U.S. lost its momentum for a bit, but it wasn't long before they caught up and gave Japan a run for the third set. Japan won, 25-23. The Americans had no problem regaining their momentum and bursting ahead in the fourth set with leads as great as eleven points. It was not until the Americans had a lead of 22-9 that Japan began to challenge for the win. With blocks from Reese, who totaled four, kills from Burke and Foronda, Japan had no chance of catching up and the U.S. won, 25-16. Because of consistent defense and offense, changes in the line-up and execution, which were elements of the original game plan, the Americans won. "Basically, we were patient," Boren said. The U.S. plays Ukraine, who beat the Americans, 3-0, in round-robin play, in the gold-medal match at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The U.S.'s Tamara Foronda celebrates with her teammates after scoring against the Japanese during the fourth period of the women's volleyball semifinal match Saturday at National Taiwan University Sports Center. The U.S. redeemed its earlier loss to Japan by defeating them, 3-1. (Photo by Jason Chiou)

Volleyball redeems itself with win against Japan

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