Americans forge dominating rout of Italians

Team USA celebrates its latest victory. —MARLO CUETO

The United States needed just three sets to settle a clash of Volleyball Nations League giants on Saturday, sweeping Italy, 27-25, 25-20, 25-16, at the PhilSports Arena.

What was expected to be a grueling showdown between two of the tournament’s most successful programs instead turned into another commanding performance by the Americans, who remained unbeaten in the Philippine leg of the VNL without dropping a set.

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Stephany Samedy led the way with 12 points, all coming on attacks, while Madison Banks added 11 as the United States improved to 6-1 overall in the preliminary round of the FIVB’s premier annual international women’s competition.

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Momentum swings

The victory came against an Italian side that, like the Americans, owns three VNL titles.

Despite the straight-set result, the match featured several momentum swings as both teams utilized alternate lineups, providing the crowd with a competitive contest, particularly in the opening set.

The Americans survived a tightly contested first frame before taking control of the match behind a more efficient offensive display.

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The United States finished with a 49-41 advantage in attacks and capitalized on Italian errors, scoring 17 points off mistakes compared to Italy’s nine.

Struggle

Italy kept pace early behind Merit Adigwe, who led her team with 13 points and was the only Italian player to score in double figures. But the Italians struggled to sustain their challenge as the match wore on and absorbed just their second loss in seven matches.

The Americans pulled away in the third set, turning a competitive contest into a rout to close out the match in just over an hour.

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The United States will wrap up its Philippine campaign against Serbia on Sunday, while Italy faces host favorite Japan.

The Volleyball Nations League features 18 teams competing across three weeks of preliminary action. The top eight teams at the end of the preliminary phase will advance to the Finals in Macaue. INQ

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