Serbia was playing in its first semifinal in history and will now advance to the gold medal match Saturday in Rio.
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Serbia stunned the top-ranked USA women’s volleyball team Thursday at the Summer Olympics, ending its pursuit for its first Olympic gold.
United States of America went into the semi-final match on the back of six straight wins, but were unable to close out a seventh after being three points from victory in the decisive fifth set.
But the sixth-ranked Serbians have surprised the US on the big stage before – taking a five-set win a year ago at the World Cup in Japan, helping force the Americans into a second-chance qualifier at Lincoln, Nebraska, in January.
Serbia faced a 10-7 deficit in the deciding fifth set, but rallied for eight of the final 11 points and rushed the court in jubilation.
“Of course in this moment we are very happy and very proud especially because we played today against maybe the best team in the world at this moment”. In the process, star player Foluke Akinradewo went down with a leg injury and was unable to play the final three sets.
Foluke Akinradewo postponed her journey to orthopedic medicine because she was exhausted of finishing second on the volleyball court.
Akinradewo’s teammates took over after she was sidelined by an apparent left knee injury late in the opening set after beginning the match brilliantly.
“Right now, this loss is deeply disappointing”, said head coach Karch Kiraly after the match. “Everything we have, everything we need is already inside us”.
Serbia then took the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-21.
Gong Xiangyu, the youngest player in legendary coach Lang Ping’s squad, burst into tears after pulling down the penultimate point with a spike to help China win 27-25, 23-25, 29-27, 25-23 in 116 minutes.
Both of those teams also advanced out of the preliminary pool with the USA and Serbia, which had lost a four-setter last week to the Americans. Aside from Olympic silver medal finishes in 1984, 2008 and 2012, Team USA earned bronze at the 1992 Olympic Games.
“Our team has a great culture and dynamic”, Larson said. “We’re two of the best teams in the world and we are going to expose all the weaknesses”.
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With the now dethroned Brazil out of sight, a new Olympic champion will be crowned in Rio de Janeiro with China as the only previous gold medal winners at Los Angeles 1984 and Athens 2000 among the current contenders.
