(June 5, 2002)

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China Sweeps U.S. Women in Montreux Opener

MONTREUX, SWITZERLAND (June 5, 2002) - Hao Yang scored 14 points and Jing Zhang added 13 points as China swept the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team, 26-24, 25-21, 25-19, in pool play at the Montreux Volley Masters tournament Wednesday night.

China, which is ranked No. 3 in the world, improved to 2-0 in "Pool B." The Netherlands is 1-1 in pool play, while the U.S. and Cuba are both 0-1. Team USA, ranked fifth in the world, plays No. 2 Cuba as pool play
continues on Thursday night. In "Pool A," Russia is 2-0, Italy is 1-1 and Brazil and Japan are both 0-1.

Team USA outside hitter Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah/Stanford), playing in her first match of the season, led all scorers with 16 points. Tom, a three-time first-team All-American and the reigning
American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Year, had a match-high 13 kills to go along with two service aces and one block.

"Tonight we started off strong but couldn't seem to keep the rhythm after the first set," said opposite Sarah Noriega (Ulysses, Kan./Loyola Marymount), who scored five points. "In the first set we had some great
defensive plays but ultimately our serving and passing kept us out of the match. We had a difficult time blocking their outside hitter (Yang), and some with their combos. Tomorrow we need to remember to
stay relaxed yet aggressive and focused."

Cheryl Weaver (Washington, D.C./Long Beach State) scored seven points for the Americans (five kills, two blocks), while Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif./Hawaii), Tayyiba Haneef (Laguna Hills, Calif./Long Beach
State) and Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa/Nebraska) chipped in six points apiece.

"Typically (we are) an aggressive team. It seemed tonight that in many areas we were passive," said Bown. "China played more aggressive than us at critical times. Along with our errors on serving, our passing had
some problems. However, as a whole I believe that we still have some practicing to do, and our team will improve in all areas. It was interesting to see how the young girls competed, but it was difficult knowing that the veterans needed to step up and help more, especially at crucial times when we had trouble."

Yang posted a hitting percentage of .471 to go along with 10 kills, a match-high three aces and one block. Zhang had 12 kills and one block. China hit .311 for the match, while the U.S. hit just .241.

Team USA has now lost four matches in a row to fall to 2-6 overall this season.

[Source: Paul Soriano, Manager, Public Relations & Publications, USA Volleyball, 715 South Circle Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80910, Tel: (719) 228-6800 Fax: (719) 228-6899, paul.soriano@usav.org, www.usavolleyball.org]

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