USA men lose Pan Am Games' bronze to Brazil

by Paul Soriano USA Volleyball Manager, Public Relations & Publications

Gilberto Godoy and Anderson Rodriguez each scored 17 points to lead Brazil to a 3-0 win over the USA men's national volleyball team in the Pan American Games bronze medal match at the Pabellon de Voleibol at Olympic Park Friday night.

Godoy had 15 kills and two blocks while Rodriguez added 12 kills, four blocks and one service ace in the 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 victory for Brazil, the world's No. 1-ranked team.

"Brazil has got a lot of good players, and (Godoy) had a good night for them tonight," said Team USA libero Erik Sullivan (Encinitas, Calif.). "He's an explosive, smaller player, and when they get in a rhythm they can run a lot of quick things with their offense, and it gets really difficult to stop. Tonight we let them play in a rhythm."

In the gold medal match, Venezuela swept Cuba, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20, to win its first-ever Pan American Games gold medal.

"I'm not sure anybody really likes to play for third place," said Team USA head coach Doug Beal. "I'm sure Brazil was disappointed to be playing in this match. Probably the volleyball wasn't at the level that it has been in lots of other matches in the tournament."

Nalbert Bitencourt added 10 points on 10 kills for Brazil, which is the defending world and World League champion.

"Brazil is a good volleyball team," Beal added. "Certainly, it's valuable for us to play them; it helps us. I would have liked for us to have been a little bit more competitive today and finish the tournament on a higher note, but on balance I actually feel pretty good about the Pan Ams.

"I thought we had some guys who had some real nice performances for us. I am looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting ready for the World Cup qualifier in September."

Brook Billings (Santa Barbara, Calif.) scored nine points on nine kills to lead the United States, which finished the tournament with a record of 3-2 and in fourth place.

Dave McKienzie (Littleton, Colo.) came off the bench to score seven points on seven kills, while Gabe Gardner (San Clemente, Calif.) and Scott Bunker (Beaver, Utah) added five points apiece for Team USA, which fell to 10-3 on the season.

The Americans swept through pool play, posting wins over Barbados (3-0), the Dominican Republic (3-0) and eventual champion Venezuela (3-2), to earn an automatic berth in the semifinals.

But Cuba came back from a 2-1 deficit after three sets to hand the United States a heartbreaking 3-2 loss in the semifinals on Aug. 13 and send the USA to Friday night's bronze medal match.

"I thought we had a great beginning of the tournament," revealed Sullivan. "The Dominican Republic is a pretty good team; they battled us one set and we were able to fight them off. We played Venezuela, which is obviously doing very well in the tournament, and fought them off to win in five. And I think we're right there with Cuba. We didn't play our best volleyball against them; that may be the most frustrating thing.

"We did some good things; we did some bad things," he said. "We just need to get back in the gym and prepare for our next competition."

Up next for the USA men is the NORCECA Zone Championship in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico (Sept. 23-28).

The NORCECA Championship is crucial because it serves as a qualifier to the first Olympic qualifier, the World Cup, which is scheduled for Nov. 16-30 in Japan. The top three teams at the World Cup automatically qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Pan American Games Final Standings

1. Venezuela 2. Cuba 3. Brazil 4. USA 5. Canada 6. Dominican Republic 7. Puerto Rico 8. Barbados

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