Macau, China, August 25, 2011 - USA vs Italy press conference

Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco: “Today I feel sorry because we lost, but I am happy with our reaction after the match against Brazil. I think we played a good game, but at the end of the match we made two or three mistakes, and with USA being a strong team they closed out the match. But I am happy with the way we played.”

USA captain Jennifer Tamas: “Italy played really well today, they were really consistent. We worked so hard at the beginning of the match and had to focus on making good play after good play. It was a good win for us, a close and tough battle the whole time. I am really happy the way it went, and we are really looking forward to tomorrow (against Brazil).”

Italy head coach Massimo Barbolini: “I agree with my captain that we played better than yesterday. Actually it is not possible to play worse than yesterday. They played a good game. Congratulations to USA, it has been a really good match. We had our chances in the fourth set, but USA defended in a wonderful way and we didn’t have the passion for the ball. So USA deserved to win.”

USA head coach Hugh McCutcheon: “Italy is a strong team, and after the match yesterday there’s no question that they will come out strong today. I am proud of my team. We had some moments that we weren’t at our best, yet our team still battled and was able to find the way to win. So we are very happy with the victory.”