USA vs Japan Epic Volleyball Battle Highlights

And that's important too because we haven't seen a lot from Hall in this week. So getting her going early. And then an ace serve by Skinner. She's been going to Coutinho. Long arms, brings it back in. Evans, beautiful delivery. Back to Coutinho. Outside, sharp. What a hand that Ishiwaka puts on the ball. Incredible ball. Off hands. There it is. Evans steadies herself. Call her Stevie. With a kill. Pass allows for anything. How about that? Flying out of the back. That is a textbook back row attack. A beautiful defense. The near serve, powerful. Well passed. I feel like it's a game of cat and mouse out there. That's a great tip on Japan's side. Kendall White a little bit too far back in her defense. Back again. There's no extra in her swing. Shutting down the first couple of attacks. From backcourt. Superwoman. Backcourt Bic has been so effective for Japan so far. Whether it's Koga or Ishikawa coming out of the back. Down the line. Backcourt. Lanier owning the net. USA sitting at set point. That needs to be in, yes. And tough. It was both. From Contino. Bouncing the ball for the set one closer. The block. Chasing it down. Koga. Free ball. Team USA. They send it deep. What happened? They get a free ball right back. And now you can run your middle. A bit of a breakdown. I think Kendall White initially wanted to take that ball. So she stepped in. To the middle. Underutilized by Japan so far this set. Contino's got a little bit of a Midas touch today. Contino. Catches him up. Okay. Free ball opportunity. Kendall White clears everybody out. Outside. High hands. Long rally dialed up. Was the block in? It was. Lanier stepping in and stepping up on that one. A great shutdown. They're not doing anything too hard. Right? Now Japan ahead by three. Heat on the serve. A little bit of a trouble pass. You know it's going to go to Skinner. Tight set. Back again. Lanier gets it. Huge block. Hand closes the door and sets them up. Backed all the way up. Quick. A little more like a dunk. Those are the kind of tips that actually do work on Japan. Because they're well disguised. You're okay with the out of bounds service. But the ones in the bottom of the net not so much. Pass is good. Evans front court. But she wanted to do it all the way. All of a sudden it's become a tip game. Things just a little bit off. What a dig by White. You've got to put that away for Kendall White. Over. Reaching for it. Long rally. Japan. And Khalil Lanier ends the rally. Koga outside. To Skinner. Tight ball. Evans delivers a nice tight ball to Skinner. But the block waiting. Araki just seals the net. Araki did a great job. Stepping in on that outside attack. Getting all the way up. Pass is perfect. To the middle. Hancock picks it up. Kendall White. It's going to come down to the block. And you can just feel it building. Hall and JT next to each other. Great move. In the zone. Big swing from Japan. Going away from that blocking sub. A very smart decision. Going after Khalil Lanier on the out. For the set. Powerful serve. Hall shut down. Huge block. Set number three. Goes to Japan. Totally controlled from first set to last. Behind quick. That's the way it looks for Japan. And it has allowed for so much success. I mean from the time that that ball was out of the hands of Shibata to the time that it was on the floor. Funky toss on it as well at times. Just a breakdown. White gets a nice ball up. Evans six foot one. Over and deep. Smart little pineapple shot from Ashley Evans. Taking that left hand. Shoving it to that back corner. Pushed outside. Carves around. Surgical slice to the sideline. Impressive cut. Turning that thumb down. Not too much heat coming behind it. Nice up. Evans goes outside to Lanier. That wind up. Evans in the center. Goes to Avery. Trying to use it off the block. No dice. Ishikawa with such confidence on that swing. She saw that gap in the block. Heavy serve. Handled by Skinner. Lanier. Perfect pass. Lanier up and puts it right down on that three meter line for the United States. For the set. Good strong serve. Outside. Big time swing. After that long break. No break in the action for the team from Japan. Big answer. This time take something off of it. This is to tie it up. Evans going to call her own number. She's done that twice now at set point. Try to target her. Go for it. Perfect platform. Nice set. Kendall White goes back to Lanier. Change of pace. Picked up no problem. Jamming it. Who else would it be? It's Wada. Wada changing up her speed as well. Just forcing this tip right through the blockers hands. One step up in such a big moment. They're making Plummer work. Lanier. Outside again. Untouchable. Unflappable and unbothered Japan. She'd want that ball too. There you go. Still not deep enough. There you go. And Plummer is lining up for the big. She's excellent. Morgan Hentz. Serve. Wow. Pass is good. You have to go to Wada to finish it off. 32 points for Yukiko Wada. The match of her life. And Japan hands the United States their first loss.