Busboom Kelly's USCNT Squad Beats Croatia
July 09, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
Amanda Green's key serving aids comeback win
MARIBOR, Slovenia – After a slow start, the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team-Europe downed a Croatian U23 Select Team in four sets on Sunday afternoon. The U.S. dropped the first set 19-25, but came back to win the next three sets 25-15, 25-20, 25-22.
The U.S. had another outstanding day blocking, stopping 12 Croatian shots while only being blocked twice. Washington State's Taylor Mims, Wisconsin's Danielle Hart and Stanford's Audriana Fitzmorris all recorded three block points.
Fitzmorris led the team with nine kills and 12 points while Mims added seven kills and 10 points. Kentucky's Leah Edmond also added seven kills as nine U.S. players put away three-or-more kills.
Iowa State's Jessica Schaben led the U.S. with two service aces.
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Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly
"We made great adjustments from yesterday's match. It's awesome to see players that can adjust so quickly and learn so quickly.
"I thought our setting was much better and our offense just looked much crisper. The setting was awesome but that starts with the pass. We kind of figured out these balls and another day in the gym against these servers allowed us to run a better offense."
Set Breakdown
Set 1 – The U.S. struggled with its serve receive in the first set, falling behind 4-0 and was never able to catch up. The Croatians recorded three service aces as the CNT dropped the first set.
Set 2 – Behind the play of middle blockers Kirstie Hillyer and Berkeley Oblad, the U.S. put away 16 kills with the duo accounting for half of the attacks. Hillyer had five kills and two blocks in the set while Oblad connected on three kills while also adding two blocks. Four straight kills by the CNT, including two by Hillyer, put the team up 12-6 as it slowly extended its lead to 10 points.
Set 3 – The U.S. rallied late, breaking a 19-19 tie off a kill by Mims. Two Croatian hitting errors and a service ace by Louisville's Amanda Green give the CNT a 23-19 lead. The U.S. scored two of the last three points to take a two-set lead in the match.
Set 4 –Schaben came on strong in the fourth set, putting away five kills, including one to give the U.S. a 19-14 lead. The Croatians held off two match points by the CNT before another Schaben kill won the match. Â
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The U.S. had another outstanding day blocking, stopping 12 Croatian shots while only being blocked twice. Washington State's Taylor Mims, Wisconsin's Danielle Hart and Stanford's Audriana Fitzmorris all recorded three block points.
Fitzmorris led the team with nine kills and 12 points while Mims added seven kills and 10 points. Kentucky's Leah Edmond also added seven kills as nine U.S. players put away three-or-more kills.
Iowa State's Jessica Schaben led the U.S. with two service aces.
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Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly
"We made great adjustments from yesterday's match. It's awesome to see players that can adjust so quickly and learn so quickly.
"I thought our setting was much better and our offense just looked much crisper. The setting was awesome but that starts with the pass. We kind of figured out these balls and another day in the gym against these servers allowed us to run a better offense."
Set Breakdown
Set 1 – The U.S. struggled with its serve receive in the first set, falling behind 4-0 and was never able to catch up. The Croatians recorded three service aces as the CNT dropped the first set.
Set 2 – Behind the play of middle blockers Kirstie Hillyer and Berkeley Oblad, the U.S. put away 16 kills with the duo accounting for half of the attacks. Hillyer had five kills and two blocks in the set while Oblad connected on three kills while also adding two blocks. Four straight kills by the CNT, including two by Hillyer, put the team up 12-6 as it slowly extended its lead to 10 points.
Set 3 – The U.S. rallied late, breaking a 19-19 tie off a kill by Mims. Two Croatian hitting errors and a service ace by Louisville's Amanda Green give the CNT a 23-19 lead. The U.S. scored two of the last three points to take a two-set lead in the match.
Set 4 –Schaben came on strong in the fourth set, putting away five kills, including one to give the U.S. a 19-14 lead. The Croatians held off two match points by the CNT before another Schaben kill won the match. Â
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Players Mentioned
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