Netherlands win
International Sports Invitational Volleyball Championship
California, USA, June 12, 2005 - Kay van Dijk scored a
match-high 21 points to lead a balanced attack as the
Netherlands overcame a first-set loss to defeat the United
States in the men’s Volleyball competition at the International
Sports Invitational on Sunday.
Van Dijk had 18 kills, two service aces and one block in the
19-25, 25-21, 25-12, 26-24 victory that capped a perfect 5-0
tournament for the Dutch at Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus
of the University of San Diego.
After splitting the first two sets, the Netherlands took control
of the match in the third set by going on a 12-0 run to turn a
slim 5-4 lead into a commanding 17-4 edge. Van Dijk had four
kills, one block and one ace during the streak.
“One of the things we have to do is be composed under pressure,”
said Team USA head coach Hugh McCutcheon. “The way things are in
international Volleyball is you’ll play teams who will get runs
of points. Somehow, we can’t completely lose it when that
happens. The guys certainly came back in the fourth set, but it
took us a while to calm down in the third when they started to
get on a run.”
Jeroen Trommel added 18 points on 13 kills, a match-high four
aces and one block. As a team, Holland blanked the USA in the
service ace department, 9-0.
“We want to play good teams when things are on the line,”
explained McCutcheon. “That’s really what happened tonight. But
the Dutch came out and served well.”
Marko Klok tallied 14 points on 13 kills and one ace, Wytze
Kooistra posted 13 points on nine kills, two blocks and two aces
and Rob Bontje registered nine points on eight kills and one
block.
In the third-place match, China outlasted Australia in five
sets, 23-25, 26-24, 26-28, 25-17, 15-10. Tang Miao scored a
match-high 25 points to lead the Chinese, who finished the
tournament with a record of 2-3. Australia finished the
competition winless at 0-5 but lost in five sets in both the
semifinals and in the third-place match. |
