USA out of the medals in World Championship

NAGOYA, October 15, 2018 - Lonneke Sloetjes scored a match-high 38 points as the Netherlands stormed back to beat the United States 3-2 (30-32, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-9) in the third round at the FIVB Women's World Championship on Monday.

Celeste Plak added 16 points and Yvon Belien 10 in the victory. Michelle Bartsch-Hackley led USA with 17 in the loss. It was the second five-set loss suffered by the American side which left the side out of the medal round.

The contest was a see-saw with huge swings in momentum. At one point it looked like USA might be on the way to a three-set win, before the pendulum swung back to the Dutch in the third set.

USA's defense could not contend with the Dutch attack in the final two sets after the match turned midway through the third set.

The Dutch relied on Sloetjes for their first victory over USA in a major world competition since 2007.

The American side was unable to regain their level of the first two sets after losing the third, becoming porous on defense and making unforced errors.

The Dutch came out aggressively on serve and attack from the outset. They appeared on their way to taking the first set, before USA charged back with improvement on offense and defense.

USA coach Karch Kiraly: “It was a great battle. We fought hard to come back in the first set. Ultimately the result is very disappointing. They made some changes and we wasted chances in the third set. You have to be good at converting those chances against a team like the Netherlands.”

USA captain Jordan Larson: “It is a disappointing loss. The Netherlands played well. There were moments where I thought we had it, but we let it slip away.”