WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Americans eliminated by Brazil in five sets

XATHENS, Greece -- One by one, the U.S. women's volleyball players left the court -- their cardinal-colored jerseys soaked in sweat and their eyes just as red with sadness.
The Americans finally found their rhythm -- just a little too late.
A late rally by the United States fizzled against Brazil in a five-set quarterfinal defeat, prompting a premature exit from the Olympic tournament on Tuesday.
"I think we're all disappointed," libero Stacy Sykora said. "We thought we could win."
Erika Coimbra scored 20 points to lead the unbeaten Brazilians to the 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 25-27, 15-6 victory. They move into the semifinals against Russia on Thursday, with the winner gaining a spot in the championship. China plays three-time defending gold medalist Cuba in the other semifinal.
The Americans, plagued by erratic serving and numerous unforced errors, dropped the first two sets. After coming back to even the match, they fell behind 8-2 in the fifth set and never recovered.
"We fought back," outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani said. "Being down 2-0 is not easy. I just think we ran out of gas there at the end."
These teams met only once before the Olympics this season, with Brazil beating the United States in the semifinals of the World Grand Prix tournament. But the six Americans who played at the 2000 Sydney Games surely remembered a three-set loss to the Brazilians in the bronze-medal match.
There was no shortage of confidence, just a shortage of points.
"I truly in my heart believed that we were going to win," four-time Olympian Tara Cross-Battle said. "We had the momentum, and I think that's probably what the most devastating thing is about this loss."
In the end, the U.S. team was out of answers. Perhaps it never fully recovered from that disappointing performance in the opening round.
"Hopefully we did not have to play with Brazil until the final," coach Toshi Yoshida said. "But it's all in the past. We lost too many games."