Grieving USA volleyball players win

Coach Hugh McCutcheon missed the 3-2 victory over Venezuela to be with family at the hospital.

BEIJING (AP) — The volleyball players huddled, had a moment of silence, and then set out on their mission — to do what little they could to ease the pain of their grieving coach and his shattered family.

Coach Hugh McCutcheon and his wife, 2004 volleyball Olympian Elisabeth “Wiz” Bachman, would miss this game. They spent the day at Beijing hospital; a day before, her father was killed and her mother critically injured by a suicidal, knife-wielding attacker at a Beijing landmark.

And so, on Sunday, the U.S. men’s team was determined to play their best — for their coach and for his in-laws, both of them devoted fans. Ultimately, despite a mid-match letdown, the Americans persevered in an opening-round match, defeating Venezuela 3-2.

“Hearing the news was tragic, stunning — words can’t describe it,” said team captain Tom Hoff. “‘How can I help?’ That’s all we were thinking. ... We talked about how the best thing we could do was try to play volleyball.”

The government tightened security Sunday around Beijing’s scenic spots in response to the attack on Todd and Barbara Bachman of Lakeville, Minn., and a Chinese tour guide.

The site of the stabbings — the 13th-century Drum Tower — was closed to tourists, a note at the ticket booth asking for visitors’ understanding. Someone had left a bouquet of yellow and white lilies and chrysanthemums at the entrance, flowers of mourning in China.

The assailant, 47-year-old Tang Yongming, leapt to his death from the tower. According to Xinhua news service, police said Tang acted out of despair over two failed marriages, and a 21-year-old son who had been charged with fraud.

The attack occurred at midday Saturday. The team learned of it soon after, during practice, when McCutcheon was summoned to the phone. Details were slow to emerge. “It was pretty silent for a while,” veteran setter Lloy Ball said.

By mid-afternoon, the players knew that Todd Bachman was dead and his wife badly hurt. But late that night, at the Olympic Village, they were bolstered by a conference call with McCutcheon, a tough-minded New Zealander who’s been their coach for the past four years as the team rose to third in the world rankings.

“It meant a tremendous amount to myself and the guys when we heard from him,” Hoff said. “He talked about trying to move on. ... He just told us, it will be difficult, but together we’ll be much stronger.”

For the U.S. coaches and players alike, there seemed to be a conscious effort not to let the tragedy throw their shared aspirations off track.

“The one thing we’ve always talked about is that this is about a team — it’s not about individual people,” Larsen said. “The thing that came across as Hugh was talking to us is, ‘You know what, I’ve got this happening right now, but we came here with a goal in mind and we’ve invested all this time in it, and we need to go out there and try to complete what we started.’ ”