Rio de Janeiro didn’t make it easy on China’s volleyball team. The Maracanãzinho crowd chanted, sung, clapped and generally rocked and heaved like it was hosting a Premier League game. Every Brazilian dig drew cheers. Each Chinese serve sounded like a J.D. Drew at-bat in Philadelphia.
2016 Olympic volleyball results: USA, Netherlands, Serbia and China advance to semifinals
Olympic women’s volleyball is down to its final four. The Americans are still alive, but China is Tuesday night’s big winner.
Matt Kryger-USA TODAY Sports
But somehow, a China team that went 2-3 in pool play found the composure to eliminate the two-time defending champions from the Olympic tournament. Zhu Ting put her team on her back, firing spikes down upon the Brazilian side with abandon. The home team knew it was coming each time, but still struggled to stop it. Ting’s finger-smashing hits often found their way to the floor and onto China’s side of the scoreboard.
Now they’ll await a semifinal showdown with the Netherlands, Pool B’s No. 2 seed. The Dutch dispatched South Korea to advance to the final four, running out to an easy 2-0 lead before letting off the gas and cruising to a 3-1 victory.
On the other side of the bracket, the United States women’s volleyball team has never won gold at the Olympics. After grinding out Japan on Tuesday, it’s only two wins away from making history.
The Americans dispatched their quarterfinal opponents in straight sets -- 25-16, 25-23, 25-22 -- to keep their undefeated streak alive at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Team USA came into the Games as the world’s No. 1 ranked team. It hasn’t lost yet in the competition and has only dropped five sets against the world’s best teams.
Japanese coach Masayoshi Manabe conceded the Americans had a physical advantage in the match. “We don’t have many tall players in our team,” he told reporters afterward.
Team USA will meet Serbia on Thursday with a berth in the gold medal match on the line. The Serbians skunked Russia in straight sets on Tuesday, including a 25-9 opener, to set up a rematch with the top seed. USA beat Serbia in round robin play, 3-1, in a match where Kimberly Hill, Rachael Adams and Foluke Akinradewo combined for 36 spikes.
Results
Quarterfinal 1: Serbia def. Russia, 3-0 (25-9, 25-22, 25-21)
Quarterfinal 2: USA def. Japan, 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-22)
Quarterfinal 3: Netherlands def. South Korea, 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 25-20)
Quarterfinal 4: China def. Brazil, 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13)
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