Teee Williams pounds one past Erna Brinkman of the Netherlands.
Photo by Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Heck, what was a little blood after years of sweat and tears? The only thing that mattered to the 31-year-old hitter was seeing to it that Team USA's collapse at the Olympics this summer wasn't repeated during the Women's World Volleyball Grand Prix.
"There's a lot of doubt about the capabilities of our team and it irritates me," said Kemner, whose 11 kills and emotional play sparked the U.S. to a 13-15, 15-0, 15-12, 15-8 Bank of Hawaii Cup victory at the Special Events Arena. "After having a couple of days off, it's hard to pick up the momentum again. We had to get the emotion back into our game."
Somewhere toward the end of Game 1, Team USA found the fire. Down, 14-10, the Americans held off five match points before former University of Hawaii All-American Teee Williams was stuffed to end the comeback.
A crowd of 3,400 saw the smoldering U.S. team came out smoking in Game 2, helping the young Dutch team fall apart with some heavy blocking pressure. Tara Cross-Battle didn't realize her team was working on a shutout "until I looked up and it was 10-0," said the former Long Beach State All-American after putting down a match-high 24 kills. "It was, 'Oh, OK, let's go for it.' Anything is possible."
The implausible became reality when Elaina Oden put down her 14th kill off a quick set. By whatever name - doughnut, bagel, goose egg, zero - the blanking of the Dutch team was sweet.
The U.S. reeled off 23 straight points, adding to the 15 in Game 2 with an 8-0 run in Game 3. Stuck on 11 until the Netherlands closed to 11-9, the Americans finally closed it out on a Dutch hitting error and an ace by Elaine Youngs.
It took another 20 minutes for Team USA to finish the sweep and begin thinking about Saturday's 3 p.m. match with Japan. The Japanese, winless in seven Grand Prix matches, gave Olympic gold medalist Cuba a scare earlier last night before falling, 15-3, 15-13, 7-15, 15-9.
Cuba will face the Netherlands at 1 p.m. Saturday. The only U.S. stop on the Grand Prix concludes Sunday with the Netherlands meeting Japan at 1 p.m. and the U.S. taking on Cuba at 3 p.m.
"I though we showed great focus in Games 2 and 3," said U.S. coach Terry Liskevych, whose team improved to 5-2 in the Grand Prix. "Reeling off 23 straight points was the match right there. We did a good job blocking and scrambled well on defense.
"The problem with the Netherlands is they have so many different style hitters. They're a tough team and they have become better in the last year."
The Dutch finished fifth at the Olympics, the U.S. seventh. The disappointing showing was compounded by the brutal criticism of USA Volleyball.
"The Olympics is just another tournament but it's the only tournament America cares about," said Liskevych, who is retiring after 12 years as national coach. "There were a lot of things written, post-Olympics, about the players and the coaching staff, and about the program being worthless.
"I'm proud of our ladies. We know we have had a good program and great players. They're proving it on the court."
Team USA will need to keep proving it through next weekend's play in Taipei if it wants to advance to the tournament finals and defend its Grand Prix title. Only the top three teams, along with host China, will go on to the Sept. 27-29 final round in Shanghai.
Cuba is currently 6-1, the U.S. 5-2, the Netherlands 1-6 and Japan 0-7. The other four Grand Prix teams are competing in Macau this weekend; Brazil leads the group at 5-1, China is 4-2, Russia 3-3 and Korea 2-4.
Last night, Oden finished with 15 kills and six blocks and Williams added 12. For the Netherlands, 19-year-old Elles Leferink had a team-high 19 kills.
"We are young, have six players who are under 20," said Dutch coach Bert Goedkoop. "We have not learned to perform at the top level consistently."
Cuba 3, Japan 1: Cuba has been the most consistent, dominant team in the world the past eight years. The two-time Olympic gold medalists were without Mireya Luis, considered one of the world's best players, who was allowed an extended vacation from the team.
Cuba didn't need her, instead showcasing some of its up-and-coming players, 19-year-old setter Taismaris Aguero and 18-year-old hitter Yumilka Ruiz (15 kills).
Cuba broke a 6-6 deadlock in Game 4 with an 8-0 run. Japan used its trademark defense to hold off six match points but finally succumbed after 105 minutes when Marlenis Costa blocked Mika Saiki.
Regla Bell led Cuba with 21 kills. Maki Fujiyoshi put down 19 kills for Japan.