Team USA Women's Volleyball

Will their third run for Olympic gold be successful? For the time being, the US American ladies celebrate their classy 3-0 win over Korea in the first semi-final

London, England (August 9, 2012)

Team USA qualified for the final match of the Olympic tournament for the third time in history after routing Korea in three straight sets (25-20, 25-22, and 25-22) in the first semi-final played on Thursday afternoon at Earls Court.

The United States, searching for its first-ever Olympic Games gold medal in women's volleyball, will face Brazil on Saturday. At the 2008 Olympics, the Americans lost to then-top-ranked Brazil in the gold-medal match to earn its second Olympic silver medal as the first came in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games. Team USA also possesses a bronze from the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona

Destinee Hooker claimed the much awaited duel with Korean opposite Kim Yeon-Koung by scoring 24 points. Hooker tallied her 24 points with 21 kills on 33 attacks and only one error, along with three blocks. After the match she felt an added energy from the crowd as the team came out onto the court.

"The crowd is very loud and very energetic," Hooker said. "We hear it more when we walk out on the court at the beginning of the game. During the game it's like, 'Look, we're all here on the court. We need to figure things out and go from there.'"

Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) charted 14 points with 10 kills on 23 attacks, three blocks and an ace. Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) added 12 points on eight kills via 10 attacks and two aces. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) provided six kills, a block and an ace for eight points

"I think we came out a little bit tight to tell you the truth," said Logan Tom, a four-time Olympian. "We made some errors. We weren't moving very well. We didn't have our usual rhythm. I think we just picked it up. We needed a little bit of time to get accustomed to it. I think we do a really good job when it comes to that. I get nervous when I don't have a match like that."

Kim Yeon-Koung anchored Korea's offense with 20, including 2 aces, but the Asian ladies could not stand the terrific power and consistency showed by the winners of the 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix and current leaders of the world ranking.

The two teams had performed brilliantly throughout the tournament, with world No.1 ranked USA losing only two sets on their way to the semifinal. During pool play, USA had beaten Korea 3-1.

Kim Yeon-Koung had been the outstanding performer of the tournament, scoring 165 points before this match, while Destinee Hooker had been lethal for her side. USA were also boosted by the return of inspirational captain and setter Lindsey Berg, who had missed the quarterfinal through injury.

Foluke Akinradewo and Han Song-Yi got points early as the teams ran up 10-10. Kim Yeon-Koung began score with power and precision, while Logan Tom showed off her all-round skills; Jordan Larson and Destinee Hooker also grounded winners as USA edged ahead. Libero Nicole Davis defended Korea's attacks expertly, and USA took the set 25-20.

Setters Berg and Kim Sa-Nee continued to create great spiking opportunities through the second set, with Akinradewo, Tom, Hooker, Larson and Christa Harmotto killing for USA and Han Song-Yi and Kim Yeon-Koung hitting back. Again it was very tight, levelling at 16-16. But USA held their nerve better again, winning the set 25-22.

USA got a five point lead early in set three, as Akinradewo, Larson and Hooker in particular found gaps in the Asian side's defence. Han Song-Yi and Kim Yeon-Koung fought hard to get back level. But after tying on 21-21, USA sealed the win, with spikes from Hooker then Tom ending the set 25-22.

"Korea is a tough team," U.S. Olympic Women's Volleyball Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "We have said this from the beginning press conference. I thought our team battled and needed to battle to win tonight. They create a lot of troubles with good serving, defense and of their offense is tough to stop. They were goo at exploiting some of our weaknesses, but luckily we were able to make some adjustments. Our athletes played with a lot of heart, and I am really proud of our team and how they competed."

Team USA, now 7-0 at the 2012 London Games and 30-1 overall this year, defeated Korea in four sets on July 28 to open the 2012 Olympics Games. The Americans finished Pool B with wins over No. 2 Brazil (3-1), No. 3 China (3-1), No. 7 Serbia (3-0) and No. 8 Turkey (3-0). The U.S. advanced to the semifinals with a sweep over rival Dominican Republic in the quarterfinal round.