Stanley powers USA men to fourth-straight World Cup win

by Paul Soriano USA Volleyball Manager, Public Relations & Publications

Clay Stanley scored a match-high 21 points to lead the USA men's national volleyball team to a 3-0 win over Tunisia to begin the third round of the World Cup at the Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan, Sunday afternoon (Saturday night in the United States).

Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii) blasted 16 kills and four service aces with one block in the 25-13, 25-17, 25-22 victory, the fourth in a row for the Americans at the first Olympic qualifier.

"I felt pretty good about today's match, which was probably some of the best volleyball we've played so far," said Team USA head coach Doug Beal. "In the first set we made almost no mistakes, which gave us a good start for the match. In the second set Stanley's serves were terrific. Overall it was a good performance for the team."

Riley Salmon (League City, Texas) added 10 points, Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.) scored eight points and Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) and Adam Naeve (Los Angeles, Calif.) added seven points apiece as Team USA improved to 5-1 at the tournament.

Since losing to 2000 Olympic gold medalist Serbia and Montenegro in the second match of the World Cup on Nov. 17, the United States has won four consecutive matches to remain in the thick of the race for a ticket to Athens.

The top three teams at the 12-team, two-week, round-robin tournament earn automatic bids to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Salmon had nine kills and one block, while Priddy posted seven kills and one ace. Millar added four kills and three blocks, while Naeve chipped in with four kills, two aces and one block.

"We maintained a good match-rhythm offensively, and displayed a good service as well," said USA setter and team captain Lloy Ball (Woodburn, Ind.), who had three blocks. "Today's result surely gave us momentum for tomorrow's match against Korea."

Noureddine Hfaiedh scored 16 points on 15 kills and one ace to lead Tunisia, which dropped to 0-6 at the tournament.

In the final two matches of the third round (Nov. 24-25) the United States battles Korea and Venezuela. In the fourth and final round (Nov. 28-30), Team USA squares off against Italy, which lost to Canada in three sets on Sunday, defending world champion Brazil and France in Tokyo.

For more information, go to the USA Volleyball web site.