USA celebrate their victory over Russia to advance to the final of the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix
Bangkok, Thailand - July 9, 2016 – USA defeated Russia 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-14) to secure a spot in the final of the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix at Indoor Stadium Huamark on Saturday.
USA coach Karch Kiraly: “Russia have a very good programme in women’s and men’s volleyball. It is a popular sport out there. It’s always great to play a team with a different playing style. Russia are a very good team. They have height and they are good at blocking. This tournament is great for us to prepare for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. There are so many tough teams in the Olympic Games – Brazil, China, Russia, Serbia, Italy and Netherlands. We’re excited to play against Brazil tomorrow. We haven’t seen the true Brazil yet. It’s going to be great for both teams in the last tournament before the Olympic Games.”
USA player Kimberly Hill: "Russia are always a very strong team with strong block and attack. In the beginning, we hit into the blocks, so we had to adjust by hitting higher and we served tougher. I think our adjustment worked very well for us today. I’m excited to play with Brazil tomorrow because we haven’t played with them this season. It’s going to be a battle for the title.”
USA player Foluke Akinradewo: “Our attackers did a very good job in adjusting to hit over the block. Our team did pretty well on service. We have trained so hard on blocking and defence.”
Russia coach Yury Marichev: “They played really well. It was tough for us to play against them. We look forward to tomorrow’s match against the Netherlands.”
Russia player Nataliya Goncharova: “USA played really well today. Their players are playing on a very high level right now. We will learn from this match and we will try to play better in our next match.”