Just an exhibition?
Not really. Not for the three United States players sprawling across the Stan Sheriff Center court chasing down a ball in the fourth set of Saturday’s USA Volleyball Cup finale.
The volume in the arena a few serves later would also indicate otherwise when a U.S. kill hit the floor to force a fifth set for the second straight night.
A night after the second-ranked U.S. edged world No. 1 Brazil in a five-set thriller, a crowd of about 6,000 saw Team USA rally to a 22-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11 victory to close out a sweep in the four-match event.
"We’ve got some heart. We’ve got some fight," U.S. coach Karch Kiraly said.
"It was a struggle. Sometimes it’s going to be like that. Great teams figure out a way to win when it is a struggle. … We aspire to be a great team — we’re not there yet, but this is one we can deposit in the account."
Former Florida standout Kelly Murphy spent the first three sets on the bench, then sparked the U.S. comeback with 10 kills in 16 swings in the fourth set as the U.S. erased a five-point deficit to force a decisive fifth set.
Murphy added five more kills in the fifth, including match point.
"I tried to bring some fresh energy. I think we did a good job as a team of coming together and fighting through when it wasn’t pretty," said Murphy, who had 20 kills on Friday.
Kelsey Robinson hammered a match-high 20 kills on Saturday and led the U.S. with 22 points.
As he did in the first two USA Volleyball Cup matches in Southern California last weekend, Kiraly shuffled the lineup for the second night of the Hawaii stop, putting five different starters on the floor, with Robinson the holdover.
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KEY: Kelly Murphy pounds 15 kills in the final two sets to rally Team USA from a 2-1 hole.
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An unplanned change was necessitated by the loss of outside hitter Jordan Larson-Burbach, one of four past Olympians on the U.S. roster. Larson-Burbach had nine kills and two blocks on Friday before suffering an ankle injury in the fourth set and was on crutches on Saturday.
The U.S. got off to a shaky start and Brazil registered five blocks in taking a 10-5 lead in the first set.
Brazil maintained a cushion until Robinson, who had 16 kills on Friday, pounded three in a 4-0 U.S. run that closed the gap to 20-19. Brazil responded with a 3-1 run and closed out the set on its third attempt on Fernanda Rodrigues’ kill from the left side.
The U.S. took its first lead of the night at 5-4 in the second set on back-to-back aces by Nicole Fawcett. Brazil seesawed in front at 23-21 before Robinson hammered a kill off the block. Fawcett followed with a kill from the right side and Robinson rolled one over the block to give the U.S. its first set point. It took two more attempts before Fawcett’s block in the middle evened the match.
Both teams held four-point leads in the third set and the U.S. erased a 19-15 deficit. They traded sideouts before Fabiana Claudino’s kill gave Brazil set point and Fernanda Rodrigues ended the set on Brazils’ second swing for the set.
Brazil jumped ahead in the fourth set, forcing Kiraly to take his second timeout with the U.S. trailing 14-9.
The lead was 18-13 when the U.S. went on a 4-0 run, Murphy being awarded a kill when the official ruled her attempt was touched on the way out. The U.S. caught Brazil and extended the match on back-to-back Robinson kills.
Robinson had the first two U.S. kills of the fifth set and teamed with Murphy to send the U.S. to its fourth win of the series and first in comeback fashion.
"These teams are playing just as hard as if it were gold medal match," Kiraly said. "We approach every match as a gold medal match, so this was gold medal match No. 57in this Olympic cycle over the last two years."
