U.S. loses to Brazil in women's volleyball final

BEIJING • Kim Glass served out of bounds. Logan Tom twice got a mouthful of volleyball and couldn't find her touch.
When four painful points were over, an improbable run also ended.

The U.S. women's indoor volleyball team was undersized, overpowered and simply outplayed Saturday in a 3-1 loss to Brazil in the gold-medal match at the Beijing Games.

A 25-15, 18-25, 25-13, 25-21 defeat prevented the No. 4 Americans, based at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, from winning their first gold, although the silver was only their second in nine Summer Games appearances.

Olympic champions for the first time, No. 1 Brazil flexed its muscle with towering middle blockers, pinpoint-accurate outside hitters and a resilient defense to improve to 8-1 against the U.S. in the past nine matches.

"Brazil is definitely the best team in our tournament," said U.S. coach "Jenny" Lang Ping, who remained noncommittal about her future but indicated she won't return to China because she wants to live close to her teenage daughter.

The U.S. had no blocks in the first set as Brazil took control with a 10-1 spurt. Tom and Heather Bown came alive to help the Americans win the second before three service errors in the third killed their momentum.

In the fourth, Brazil and the U.S. were tied 21-21 when Glass sailed her serve past the end line. Then on back-to-back plays, Tom was stuffed by Sheilla Castro at the left post. The next time Tom touched the ball, she hit long, and Brazil started a wild celebration.

"Maybe I could have swung a little higher, but I'm not the kind of person to go down without swinging," Tom said. "If I would have tipped, they would have got it up. I tried to go sharp, they got me. I tried to go line, they got me."

Lindsey Berg blamed the loss on poor serving in the third and fourth sets. Stacy Sykora called Brazil's defense the difference-maker. Nicole Davis figured it was Brazil's transition game.

"Brazil at their best is better than the USA team at our best," Davis said. "We had opportunities, and we let a couple go. ... We had one or no blockers up, and they were digging balls and transitioning and running balls down. There were moments where we needed to be more aggressive, and we weren't. We were hesitating a little bit."

Said Sykora: "Brazil played amazing. You saw the defense, the blocking, the hits. We fought hard. We just didn't have enough."

Most players hailed the silver a success, considering the U.S. entered Beijing as heavy underdogs to Brazil, Italy and Cuba.

"There's no disappointment," Tom said. "I'm happy with this thing around my neck right now, and I will be forever."
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