Saturday, August 28, 2004
XATHENS, Greece -- With the next Summer Games set for Beijing, China will have a chance to defend its women's volleyball gold medal without leaving home.
Ping Zhang led a determined rally past Russia with 25 points Saturday in the Olympic final, won by the Chinese 28-30, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 15-12.
After dropping the first two sets, China rallied to tie it -- staying a step ahead of the Russians in the final set. Yuehong Zhang ended it with a spike from the left side.
China's players began crying and hugging on their side of the court, while a stunned Russia team sat on its bench in tears.
A hard-hitting, high-jumping attack led by Nancy Carillo de la Paz and Zoila Barros Fernandez sparked the Cubans to an easy victory over Brazil in the bronze medal match, 25-22, 25-22, 14-25, 25-17.
Cuba won each of the last three Olympic tournaments, but several stars have since retired and the transition hasn't been all that smooth.
Still, four players remain from the 2000 team -- Yumilka Ruiz Luaces, Ana Ivis Fernandez Valle, Marta Sanchez Salfran and Barros Fernandez -- and there's clearly plenty of spunk left over.
When Carillo de la Paz killed match point with a spike at the middle of the net, Sanchez Salfran did a high-step, stationary sprint and spread her arms wide in celebration as a group hug ensued. Barros Fernandez rushed out to jump on the top of it.
Ana "Bia" Chagas led Brazil with 23 points. The second-ranked team in the world, Brazil fell behind 6-1 in the fourth set, cut Cuba's lead to 15-12 and then faded -- succumbing to several hitting errors in the final stretch. Brazil, which lost to Cuba in the semifinals in each of the last two Summer Games, won bronze medals in 2000 and 1996.
Associated Press
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