Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

Morning Report

The headline writers were enthusiastic — it was a “big” victory in a “dramatic Olympics rematch.”  It sure looked like all of that to us, as the #1-ranked United States women downed the #2-ranked Brazilians 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21 ) to remain undefeated in the Group B Bracket.

For Penn State fans, it was fun to see Kobe Bryant’s “are you kidding me?” moment following an emphatic kill by Christa Harmotto.  The commentators liked it too.

Below are links to two articles about the match, followed by scoring from the match and cumulative scoring to date for the United States.

Coming up next — China, on Wednesday, August 1st at 3:00 p.m. EST.  We’ll have a pre-match write-up later today or early tomorrow.

Day 3 Review: USA hand Brazil big defeat

From www.london2012.com:

Chasing what would be a first gold in 10 attempts, Hugh McCutcheon’s side were almost faultless in front of a boisterous crowd, sending out the clearest of signals that 2012 could be their year.

Backed by the support of USA Basketball star Kobe Bryant – off-duty this afternoon – they got to grips with Brazil’s delicate style before blowing them off the court by way of the brilliance at the net of Destinee Hooker and Foluke Akinradewo.

The USA turned on the style in women’s Volleyball as they scored a comprehensive 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21 win over defending champions Brazil.

For the complete article, Click Here

US Women’s Volleyball Team Defeats Brazil In Dramatic Olympics Rematch From 2008 (PHOTOS)

From Huffington Post:

LONDON — The U.S. women’s volleyball team defeated Brazil 3-1 on Monday at the Olympics in an early-round rematch of the Beijing Games final won by the Brazilians.

Destinee Hooker had 23 points and Jordan Larson added 18 for the top-ranked Americans, who won 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21 to improve to 2-0 in pool play at Earls Court.

Sheilla Castro had 15 points for No. 2 Brazil, which was energized after a third-set victory but lost on Logan Tom’s floater in the fourth set. Tom is playing in her fourth Olympics.

“I call her the glue,” coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “She holds this team together.”

For the complete article (and photos), Click Here.

 Scoring

Scoring - United States vs. Brazil

#	Name	Position	Height	Srv	Spk	Blk	Pts
2	Scott-Arruda, Danielle	MB	6-2	0	0	0	0
3	Haneef-Park, Tayyiba	Opp	6-7	0	0	0	0
4	Berg, Lindsey	S	5-8	0	3	0	3
5	Miyashiro, Tamari	L	5-7	0	0	0	0
6	Davis, Nicole	L	5-4	0	0	0	0
10	Larson, Jordan	OH	6-2	0	16	2	18
11	Hodge, Megan	OH	6-3	0	0	0	0
13	Harmotto, Christa	MB	6-2	0	4	1	5
15	Tom, Logan	OH	6-1	0	12	0	12
16	Akinradewo, Foluke	MB	6-3	0	9	0	9
17	Thompson, Courtney	S	5-8	0	0	0	0
19	Hooker, Destinee	Opp	6-4	0	22	1	23

Scoring - Brazil vs. United States

#	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Srv.	Spk	Blk	Pts
1	CLAUDINO Fabiana	MB	6-4	0	5	5	10
3	LINS Danielle	S	6-0	0	0	0	0
4	PEQUENO Paulina	WS	6-0	0	10	0	10
5	SILVA Adenizia	MB	6-0	0	1	1	2
6	MENEZES Thaisa	MB	6-4	0	11	0	11
8	CARVALHO Jaqueline	WS	6-1	0	2	0	2
9	FERREIRA Ferndanda	S	5-8	1	2	0	3
11	CAIXETA Tandara	WS	6-0	1	1	0	2
12	PEREIRA Natalia	WS	6-0	0	0	0	0
13	CASTRO Sheilla	OS	6-2	1	13	1	15
14	OLIVEIRA Fabiana	L	5-5	0	0	0	0
16	RODRIGUES Fernanda	WS	5-10	0	9	0	9

Cumulative Scoring - United States

#	Name	Position	Height	Matches	Srv	Spk	Blk	Pts
2	Scott-Arruda, Danielle	MB	6-2	2	0	8	3	11
3	Haneef-Park, Tayyiba	Opp	6-7	5	0	1	2	3
4	Berg, Lindsey	S	5-8	5	1	6	0	7
5	Miyashiro, Tamari	L	5-7	5	0	0	0	0
6	Davis, Nicole	L	5-4	5	0	0	0	0
10	Larson, Jordan	OH	6-2	5	2	45	4	51
11	Hodge, Megan	OH	6-3	2	0	19	0	19
13	Harmotto, Christa	MB	6-2	5	2	20	8	30
15	Tom, Logan	OH	6-1	5	2	40	6	48
16	Akinradewo, Foluke	MB	6-3	5	1	41	15	60
17	Thompson, Courtney	S	5-8	5	0	0	0	0
19	Hooker, Destinee	Opp	6-4	5	3	87	14	104