The Americans came to Rio as favorites and were undefeated until Serbia knocked them out in a five-set upset on Thursday when the USA team lost its top scorer Foluke Akinradewo to a leg injury.
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Serbia, playing in its first semifinal in history, advanced to the gold medal match Saturday.
Three former Huskers are on the 12-member USA team.
With its toughest rivals knocked out, Serbia will compete for gold for the first time on Sunday, against China or the Netherlands.
Italy beat the US men 3-2 in the semifinals at the Rio Olympics on Friday afternoon and will next face the victor of Friday’s second semifinal between Russian Federation and Brazil. She did not return to the match and her status remains unclear for Saturday’s bronze medal game. “It cuts deep”, he said.
“Serbia was doing a nice job with creating problems for us”, Kiraly said.
United States’ Courtney Thompson serves the ball during a women’s semifinal volleyball match against Serbia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. The Americans will play the Netherlands for bronze.
Can Karch Kiraly and Team USA get over the disappointment and still win their final match in the Rio Olympics?
“I think we were a little distracted there for a second just because we care so much for her”, team captain Christa Harmotto Dietzen said, as her voice cracked with emotion and she struggled to maintain her composure. “And now we have the next 48 hours to do so”. After winning their first six matches in Rio, the Americans fell to Serbia in four sets to deny them a chance at their first gold medal. That means Serbia will face a young Chinese squad led by former USA coach Jenny Lang Ping – she raised her arms in the air and then sighed in relief as her players hugged her. The U.S. can still win a bronze medal this year, but they will have to beat the loser of the other semifinal to do so. Larson added a team-best nine excellent receptions on 28 chances and five digs.
“In this important, hard moment we showed that we wanted to win more or we have more courage”, Mihajlovic told reporters.
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“It’s not going to happen this month”, Kiraly said.
