MATCH INFO

Kagoshima, Japan, November 20, 2011 - In their opening match of this 2011 World Cup, the USA came up with a win against China, showing great composure in the second and third sets where China held leads. The Americans' look forward to an even tougher match against top-ranked Brazil tomorrow.

USA coach Alan Knipe: First of all I’d like to say we’re happy to start with three points. That’s very important in this tournament. I thought our winning the first set was due largely to Matt Anderson’s serving and I thought we played well around that run. In set two China played better, and we had some errors. But the good thing was how much composure we showed, not panicking; chipping away, and putting ourselves in a position to win. The third was closer from start to finish and at the end we didn’t just score on stuff blocks but had some good scores, good blocking and defense. They served a lot to [Matthew] Anderson and [Richard] Lambourne, and gave us an opportunity to side out. I wish China the the best throughout the rest of the tournament.

On blocker Maxwell Holt: We have four good middle blockers in this tournament we’re confident all four can contribute. Max has played well and its not a surprise that he started the tournament for os.

On USA women already winning an Olympic ticket: For us we’re very happy for coach Hugh McCutcheon and the women’s team for their successful tournament. They have much to be proud of. It’s motivation for us, but it doesn’t change what we came here to do. We must focus on our own game. We’re happy for them, and we want to follow in their footsteps.

USA player Clayton Stanley: I thought we did many good things today. In each set we got in some nice serving, from Anderson, some good passing, good blocks. China gave some trouble in the second and third, but we were composed. We settled down, took care of serving and passing; did everything better. I wish China good luck in their next games.

On Brazil tomorrow: I think we need to come out with high intensity. Our team enjoys playing Brazil. We have a good history with this team being competitive. We can’t give up runs of points as we did today, but if we do we need to be composed. We need to serve tough, spike high and block well.

On conditioning, and their goal for the tournament: I think as far as conditioning we have a good strength coach who has put together a good program for us. Our goal is to try to win and qualify for Olympics to try to get one of those top three spots.

USA player William Priddy: I’d like to echo everything that Clay said. China plays fast, with good ball control, great defense. It was difficult, but we’re glad to get momentum on our side in many phases of the game. It’s a good to start to a tournament like this. I’m looking forward to getting back to hotel and resting.

China coach Zhou Jianan: Because this is the beginning of the World Cup we thought this was an important match. We trained well for this. In the first set we did badly, but in the second and third we had chances but couldn’t capitalize, or hold our rhythm until end.

On Tomorrow’s match is going to be tough, but we’d like to do our best. Russia is tall and there will be much pressure around the net.

On China women’s team already winning an Olympic ticket: We were looking at women’s competition too. It’s great motivation that they won an Olympic ticket. We have much to learn from them on the mental side.

China captain Cui Jianjun: It was a hard match today, and though we were defeated at the end, we still learned a lot. We’d like to use it for tomorrow’s match.

On losing second and third set leads, and the difference between them and USA team: In the first and second sets we just missed it. We are a young team, but USA is an experienced team. The difference between them and us is that they’re relaxed, and we’re not.

China player Zhong Weijun: First of all congratulations to the USA team on their win today. We did our best today, and we’ll be sure to do our best from tomorrow.