The US, led by the tournament’s best player Clayton Stanley, won the Olympic men’s volleyball gold yesterday, beating defending champions Brazil by three sets to one in the final.
Stanley, the top scorer and server in Beijing, killed off the Brazilians at the second match point with an emblematic cross-court smash that their inspirational captain Gilberto Godoy Filho was unable to return.
“A gold medal in the Olympics is a huge victory for us,” said Sean Rooney, referring to a campaign that was overshadowed by the killing of head coach Hugh McCutcheon’s father-in-law, who was stabbed to death at a tourist site. “I think when that kind of thing happens, the guys got a good taste of what’s important in life.”
Brazil took the first set 25-20, but the US came back to narrowly win the next three sets 25-22, 25-21 and 25-23.
Stanley finished with 20 points, including 15 spikes, while Godoy Filho scored 14 points for Brazil and Dante Amaral 13 spikes.
In the decisive fourth set, the US rallied from two points down behind the spikes of Priddy, who also teamed up with Ryan Millar and David Lee for 12 blocks.
Endres Murilo, who scored 13 for Brazil, saved a point with a drive before Stanley found himself alone in the right corner for the uncontested kill.
The two teams have four Olympic titles between them. But the Americans, who went through the tournament undefeated, had not won it since 1988 in Seoul.
Brazil started the stronger with the high-leaping Godoy Filho, Andre Heller and Amaral scoring with some crowd-pleasing kills, while Stanley misfired early.
But when Stanley found his groove in the second set the Americans raced to a 6-0 lead helped by his two kills and and a jump serve ace.
Brazil fought back with some inspired Godoy Filho smashes and an ace, plus effective blocking that brought them back to within one at 20-21, before a Stanley ace and two smashes got the US home.
The third set developed into a see-saw battle, until the US drew away with the help of their solid defense.
Russia beat Italy for the bronze medal.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to