Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 8, 2016 - USA and the Netherlands meet each other for their second competition day match in Pool B of the women’s volleyball tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Both teams started off their campaigns with victories on Saturday, and on Monday one of them will make an important step towards the quarterfinals.
The United States did not face any serious issues in their game against Puerto Rican rookies and mastered a speedy 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) win with Kelly Murphy and Kimberly Hill top-scoring with 14 points each. “I expect us to play better,” stated coach Karch Kiraly despite being happy with the result.
The Netherlands had a much tougher challenge on Saturday, but persevered to claim a 3-2 (25-23, 21-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-13) victory over China with Lonneke Sloetjes contributing 26 points. “This win helps our self-confidence,” said coach Giovanni Guidetti. “Every match is like a final for us.”
USA and the Netherlands met twice in FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix 2016 with the Americans emerging victorious on both occasions. On June 25 in Hong Kong, the United States claimed a 3-1 (25- 17, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20) victory. Eleven days later, at the Grand Prix finals in Bangkok, the Americans managed a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) shutout.