Olympic volleyball results 2016: U.S. women clinch quarterfinal spot with win over Serbia

The United States women’s volleyball team kept rolling at the 2016 Olympics with a 3-1 victory over Serbia in preliminary play Wednesday. The Americans have now opened up their run in Rio with three consecutive wins after beating Puerto Rico and the Netherlands in previous matches.

Serbia eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup in Japan last year, so this victory was extra sweet. The Americans didn’t have too much trouble, either. After taking the first set, 25-17, the Serbians responded by taking the second set, 25-21. After that, it was all Team USA as it rolled to 25-18 and 25-19 wins in the final two sets to put things away.

Rachael Adams, who was part of the gold medal team at the 2014 World Championship, recorded four service aces in a strong performance for the U.S. Foluke Akinradewo also played well, including scoring four of the final five points in the third set.

After rebounding from a deficit against the Netherlands in their last match, the team did a nice job of responding to Serbia’s best bursts, especially coming off losing the second set. While the Americans are No. 1 in the FIVB world rankings, Serbia is also one of the best at No. 6.

The victory clinches a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals for the U.S. The team is atop Group B with eight points after three games. China is next with seven points, while Serbia and the Netherlands are tied with six points apiece. Group A hasn’t played as many games yet, but Brazil and Russia are both atop the group with 2-0 records.