Americans outlast China in volleyball

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A thrilling, five-set victory over China Friday put the U.S. women in position to finish second in their Olympic volleyball group.

With former Chinese player and head coach Jenny Lang Ping now coaching the Americans, the United States fought back for a 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11 victory.

"We are absolutely thrilled," said American Lindsey Berg. "We knew it was going to be tough playing China at their home. All we wanted to do was fight."

The United States has a 3-1 record with one game remaining in group play.

Cuba leads Group A with a 4-0 record, followed by the Americans. China and Japan are at 2-2. All of those teams are likely to make the quarterfinals since the top four in each of the six-team groups advance to the knockout phase of the tournament.

In Group B, Brazil and Italy remained unbeaten with straight-sets victories. Brazil, which downed Kazakhstan, and Italy, which coasted past Serbia, will meet on Sunday to determine the winner of the group.

If the United States can beat Poland on Sunday and finish second in the group, it would avoid Italy and Brazil in the quarterfinals and probably play either Russia or Serbia.