Spikers come back with 4-set victory

ATHENS, Greece — After a difficult opening draw in the women's volleyball tournament, the United States responded to its first defeat with a commanding four-set victory over Germany on Monday.

With Olympic rookie Tayyiba Haneef and veteran Keba Phipps leading their attack, the Americans won the match 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 27-25.

World Cup holder China, considered the gold-medal favorite, began the preliminary competition by beating the U.S. in four sets on Saturday.

Germany didn't give up after falling behind 2-0, grabbing the last four points of the third set with some highlight-reel sequences. On set point, Angelina Grun leaped from the right side, wound up and zipped a spike between Phipps and Logan Tom that landed in front of a sprawled-out Robyn Ah Mow-Santos in the back row.

The Germans showed even more scrap in the fourth set, staving off match point three times and taking a 25-24 lead before the Americans closed with three straight to win. Haneef ended it with a kill.

Although the top four teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals, the Americans — who have their own gold aspirations — would have put themselves in a tough spot with another loss.

That didn't happen, though, against a German team that three-time defending Olympic champion Cuba took lightly — and lost to — two days ago.

The competition began with six clear medal contenders, but the Germans — guided by the serving-and-spiking prowess of Grun — caught everyone's attention with a five-set upset of the Cubans.

The U.S. gave 10th-ranked Germany a little dose of reality with a steady all-around performance, however, staying a step or two ahead throughout the match after a slow start to the opening set.

Wearing cardinal-colored tops for the first time with the navy blue shorts, the United States took five of the final seven points in the first frame after a kill by Grun tied it at 20.

Phipps, fittingly, punctuated an excellent set with a powerful spike that landed near the back line to put the Americans up one.

Haneef, a 6-foot-7 opposite who played at Long Beach State, is at age 25 one of the game's top up-and-coming talents at her position. Coach Toshi Yoshida frequently mentions Haneef as the player whose success most closely mirrors the team's.

She led the way in the second set and finished with a team-high 19 points.