BUL vs USA | 2018 FIVB Womens World Championships

U.S. Women's National Team Cruises Past Bulgaria

U.S. Women's National Team Cruises Past Bulgaria

The U.S. Women's National Team swept Bulgaria on Sunday in Osaka, Japan, to remain undefeated in World Championship play.

Oct 7, 2018 by Kolby Paxton
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The overwhelming dominance of the U.S. Women's National Team was on full display as the second round began on Sunday afternoon in Osaka. The Americans cruised past Bulgaria in straight sets, 25-16, 25-17, 25-11.

With the victory, the USA improves to 6-0 (16 points) in the 2018 FIVB Women's World Championship and 32-4 overall in 2018.

The Americans held a 7-1 ace advantage over Bulgaria on Sunday and, in each set, raced out to commanding advantages early—and pulled away late.

“It was a really good game, a good team effort,” U.S. setter Carli Lloyd (Bonsall, California) said. “We had a lot of urgency, energy and fun.”

Outside hitter Kim Hill led the way for the U.S., pacing all scorers with 13 points, including 12 kills on 29 attacks and a block. Karsta Lowe added 11 kills on 16 swings and an ace. Veteran outside Jordan Larson chipped in nine points with seven kills and a pair of aces.

"Our main focus coming into this game was to have an attack mentality," Larson said. "We had a great game plan going into this game and we served well, which created a lot of defensive opportunities for us. I am really proud of our team and obviously this is a great win but we have a long ways to go."

The U.S. women have often made it look easy in both the World Championship and during Volleyball Nations League play, but the team's captain cautions otherwise.

"Definitely it has not been easy," said Larson. "I think six wins is awesome. Those have not been six easy wins. Our focus through this whole tournament is to get better every single match and I think we have done that. We hope we can keep it going all tournament."

Next up for the Americans is a gritty Turkey squad that pushed the Americans—and everyone else—on the way to a second place Volleyball Nations League finish.

“Turkey is a great opponent for us,” Carli Lloyd said. “We played them a few times in Volleyball Nations League. They are a scrappy team. They play with a lot of energy. We are excited to play them. It is always fun to play against them. Expect a good match.”

The U.S. will meet Turkey on Monday night at 11:25 PM CT. As is the case with the entirety of the 2018 FIVB Women's World Championship, the match will be streamed LIVE on FloVolleyball.