Turkey sweeps USA women at Yeltsin Cup

by Paul Soriano USA Volleyball Manager, Public Relations & Publications

Neslihan Demir scored a match-high 22 points as Turkey defeated the USA women's national volleyball team, 3-0, in the fifth-place match of the Yeltsin Cup Saturday night.

Demir had 18 kills, two blocks and two service aces in the 25-14, 25-14, 25-18 win.

For the fifth-straight match, Tayyiba Haneef (Laguna Hills, Calif.) led the United States in scoring. Haneef, who scored a career-high 41 points in a 3-2 loss to Cuba on April 22 and 30 points the next night in a 3-1 win over Thailand, scored 15 points on 15 kills in the loss to Turkey.

Wiz Bachman (Lakeville, Minn.) added six points on six kills, while Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) and Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu, Hawaii) each added three points as Team USA dropped to 2-3 on the season.

Team USA is playing without six of its regulars who have been playing professionally overseas-Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Nancy Metcalf (Hull, Iowa), Keba Phipps (Las Vegas, Nev.), Danielle Scott (Baton Rouge, La.), Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) and Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah).

In Sunday's championship match, Russia defeated Cuba, 3-0. In the third-place match, Azerbaijan beat the Dominican Republic, 3-2.

2004 Yeltsin Cup

Saturday's Results

Seventh-Place Match (Ekaterinburg) Croatia vs. Thailand (scores not available)

Fifth-Place Match (Ekaterinburg) Turkey def. USA, 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-18)

Championship Semifinals (Nizhniy Tagil) Russia def. Azerbaijan (25-19, 22-25, 25-27, 25-13, 15-13) Cuba def. Dominican Republic (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22)

Sunday's Results

Third-Place Match (Nizhniy Tagil) Azerbaijan def. Dominican Republic, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-18, 15-6)

Championship Match (Nizhniy Tagil) Russia def. Cuba, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-23)

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