US women’s volleyball gets silver, Italy wins gold in Olympics final

PARIS (AP) — Monica De Gennaro of Italy made three earlier journeys to the Olympics solely to go away empty-handed every time.

Lastly, at age 37, she’s going dwelling with the gold.

Italy beat the defending champion U.S. crew Sunday to win gold in girls’s volleyball on the Paris Olympics.

“It feels particular,” she stated. “It’s the dream of each participant to play within the last of the Olympics and win it. It’s one thing distinctive. We labored so onerous for thus a few years to have the ability to attain this last.”

When Italy scored the match level to finish it, lots of the gamers collapsed to the courtroom, then started hugging in an enormous scrum. Collectively they tossed De Gennaro into the air.

The victory got here in straight units, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17. The Italians ended a dominant match having misplaced only one set.

It’s the primary medal within the sport for top-ranked Italy and sends the Individuals dwelling in disappointment after they gained their first Olympic title in Tokyo. It’s an enormous win for the Italians, whose earlier finest Olympic end was fifth.

“It means every little thing,” Alessia Orro stated. “There’s plenty of onerous work, plenty of sweat, many sacrifices and lots of disappointments which have introduced us this far. They made us take this path, they made us win the gold.”

The victory got here in entrance of a boisterous crowd at South Paris Enviornment, the place many followers waved Italian and U.S. flags. Individuals danced and cheered because the Italians romped to the win.

The U.S. was up 6-5 within the third set earlier than Italy scored the subsequent seven factors to take a 12-6 lead. The Individuals fought again, scoring three of the subsequent 4 factors.

The U.S. acquired inside 19-16 earlier than Italy closed it out with a 6-1 run capped by the match level by Paola Egonu, who had a dominant efficiency, scoring 22 factors.

“It’s magnificent,” Italy’s Caterina Bosetti stated. “It’s the match that I’ve been ready for all my life.”

Myriam Sylla beamed whereas carrying her gold medal as she spoke to reporters after the win. The 29-year-old, who was a first-time Olympian, was requested the way it felt round her neck.

“It’s heavy like … the journey that we did to realize it,” she stated.

The silver end by the Individuals provides them a seventh Olympic medal to make them the winningest nation within the volleyball.

“I’ll stroll away being very proud that we had been in a position to play on the final day of competitors,” American Jordyn Poulter stated. “And I feel it feels much more candy to us due to simply all that we’ve got gone by means of as a crew.”

Italy swept Turkey in straight units to succeed in the ultimate whereas the U.S. beat Brazil in a five-set thriller for its spot within the recreation.

U.S. coach Karch Kiraly modified the lineup after a five-set loss to China on July 29 to start out group-stage play. He moved veterans Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson Prepare dinner to the bench in favor of Avery Skinner and Kathryn Plummer.

The transfer labored, and the crew defeated Serbia the subsequent trip to get again on monitor. However on Sunday, it wasn’t sufficient to get previous the mighty Italian crew and repeat as champions.

Kiraly was impressed with the way in which his crew fought by means of adversity to succeed in the ultimate.

“It was completely superior to see that once we acquired pushed to the restrict … how succesful this group was, how a lot resolve it had, how a lot grit it had,” he stated. “That was in all probability the very best factor to study in these Olympics.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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