U.S. Volleyball Team Advances to Semifinals
August 25, 2004 | Bruin Athletics
Aug. 25, 2004
The United States staged a tremendous comeback to knock fifth-ranked Greece out of medal contention and win a spot in the semifinals of the volleyball competition at the Athens Olympics. The USA won 25-20, 22-25, 25-27, 25-23, 17-15 in two hours and 16 minutes in front of 9,300 fans at the Peace and Friendship Stadium. The first set was tight until Clay Stanley stepped to the service line for the United States. Stanley aced Greece four times to break turn a 12-11 U.S. lead into a 16-12 cushion. Greece never recovered and lost by five. The U.S. team took the early lead in the second set, 3-1. But Greece managed to quickly tie the score. Sparked by Antrei Kravarik and Tonto-Zlatko Baev, Greece built three-point cushion of 10-7 and 14-11. Behind Kevin Barnett, the U.S. answered and tied the set at 17. Solid defense and efficient spiking helped Greece take another three-point lead and win 25-22. The third set went point-by-point in fascinating mode. The U.S. was the first team to reach set-point, 24-23. Theodoros Chatzianoniou saved the day for Greece with a tremendous block (24-24) before falling on the floor in pain. The 30-year-old middle blocker sprained his ankle and had to be substituted. The Greek team appeared inspired by Chatzianoniou's injury and won 27-25. Greek morale was now sky-high. The hosts raced to an early 6-0 advatange and built a nearly insurmountable 20-12 lead. The U.S. team, led by Ryan Millar and Thomas Hoff, produced an unbelievable 9-1 rally to tie the score at 21. Astonished, the Greeks fell 25-23. The scenario was repeated in the fifth set. Greece led 12-9 but collapsed again. The U.S. tied the score at 12, while Greece was unable to execute, despite being the first team to reach match point. Millar's kill gave the USA a thrilling victory and a chance to earn a medal in the semifinals. "It was an exciting match," said Erik Sullivan (UCLA '95), the U.S. team's Libero. "Both teams played very well. "Greece caused us some problems," he continued, "but we made some adjustments in the fourth and fifth sets and we won it." Barnett, William Priddy, Stanley and Millar led the Americans with 20, 16, 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Kravarik had 26 points and Marios Gkiourdas 17 for the hosts. The United States meets the winner of the Brazil-Poland match in the semifinals on Friday.