U.S. women's volleyball shocks Cuba; advances to gold medal match against Brazil

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh weren't the only American women making history on the volleyball court Thursday in Beijing.

The U.S. women's volleyball team, swept by Cuba on Aug. 11, recorded the most impressive victory of the tournament with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-17 semifinal sweep at Capital Gymnasium.

It marks the first time since 1984 and only the second in the country's history that the Americans will be competing for the gold medal in women's indoor volleyball.

Ironically, the U.S. lost to China in the 1984 final in Los Angeles. One of the stars of the victorious Chinese team was "Jenny" Lang Ping, now the head coach of the U.S. women's national team. Lang Ping coached the Chinese to the silver medal in 1996 in Atlanta.

The U.S., No. 4 in the FIVB world rankings, faces top-ranked Brazil in the final.

Third-ranked Cuba, which captured three consecutive gold medals from 1992-2000 and took bronze in 2004 in Athens, went undefeated in pool play, including a 25-15, 26-24, 25-17 victory over the Americans. In that match, the U.S. never found an offensive rhythm, hitting .450 with only 19 digs. Tayyiba Haneef-Park led the Americans with 12 kills in that contest, Logan Tom added seven kills and Danielle Scott-Arruda contributed five.

In the rematch, the U.S. hit .490 with 31 digs and received much more offensive balance, with five players recording at least five kills.

Haneef-Park led again with nine kills, Tom added seven, Kim Willoughby came off the bench with six and Scott-Arruda and Kim Glass had five apiece. Libero Nicole Davis, an All-American at USC, contributed seven digs and Tom led the Americans with 10.

The U.S. hadn't reached the medal round since 2000, when it took fourth. The Americans' last medal was a bronze in 1992 in Barcelona, losing to Cuba in five games in the semifinals, before rebounding to sweep Brazil in the third-place match.