USA vs Kazakhstan | Highlights | Women's Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2019
Shreveport-Bossier City, USA, August 2, 2019 – The United States won a convincing 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-10) victory over Kazakhstan on Friday evening to open the Tokyo Volleyball Qualification Tournament with a triumph.
USA coach Karch Kiraly: “I like what we did. Our focus was on our side of the net. There were some unknowns – we didn’t know much about this Kazakhstan team. We learned and got better as we went. They battled early, and then we eventually wore them down with some very good serving. Tonight we were taking pride in being good on our side of the net, focusing on our things and I think we did a nice job in that.”
On playing Bulgaria on Saturday: “They are going to be a handful. We played them earlier this summer, but they were without probably their best player, outside hitter No. 16 Vasileva. We will be working hard this evening and tomorrow morning on a game plan. We are looking for a stiff challenge.”
USA player Kelsey Robinson: “I am really proud with the way we came out tonight. I think we were so excited to be here in Louisiana and to put on a good show for these fans. But most importantly, we are excited to take it point-by-point and try to get three sets every night."
On her hitting 11-of-16: “Our setters are amazing. They set us up for success every night. We have great passing to keep us in system. It is really a team effort. So I am able to go out and hit and makes my job easy.”
On playing Bulgaria on Saturday: “Back to the drawing board. We will have video and get a good look at the team. They have a great player. We will just have a good video session and scouting session.”
Kazakhstan coach Nejat Sancak: “We are a very young team. The targets of both teams are very different. We couldn’t bring here our four main players and even if we brought those four players we could not beat USA. They play at different level and speed. I am very happy for my team because they tried very well. Our aim is to compete with Bulgaria and Argentina and to get more points for world ranking.”
Kazakhstan captain Kristina Anikonova: “I have never played against USA, but some my teammates have played against them. The American team seems to be stronger and faster. We want to show our very good game tomorrow and try to win.”
On playing Bulgaria on Saturday: “They are going to be a handful. We played them earlier this summer, but they were without probably their best player, outside hitter No. 16 Vasileva. We will be working hard this evening and tomorrow morning on a game plan. We are looking for a stiff challenge.”
USA player Kelsey Robinson: “I am really proud with the way we came out tonight. I think we were so excited to be here in Louisiana and to put on a good show for these fans. But most importantly, we are excited to take it point-by-point and try to get three sets every night."
On her hitting 11-of-16: “Our setters are amazing. They set us up for success every night. We have great passing to keep us in system. It is really a team effort. So I am able to go out and hit and makes my job easy.”
On playing Bulgaria on Saturday: “Back to the drawing board. We will have video and get a good look at the team. They have a great player. We will just have a good video session and scouting session.”
Kazakhstan coach Nejat Sancak: “We are a very young team. The targets of both teams are very different. We couldn’t bring here our four main players and even if we brought those four players we could not beat USA. They play at different level and speed. I am very happy for my team because they tried very well. Our aim is to compete with Bulgaria and Argentina and to get more points for world ranking.”
Kazakhstan captain Kristina Anikonova: “I have never played against USA, but some my teammates have played against them. The American team seems to be stronger and faster. We want to show our very good game tomorrow and try to win.”