With back-to-back five-set losses to China and the Netherlands, the U.S. women’s national team will not advance to the semifinals of the 2018 FIVB Women’s World Championships. The USA ends the tournament on a four-match losing streak and finishes fifth with an overall record of 7-4. 

In their first match of Pool H -- one of two three-team pools at the Final Six in Nagoya, Japan -- the U.S. women lost to China, despite rallying after a first-set defeating to take a 2-1 lead.

The USA had plenty of opportunities against China. In the first set, the Americans led 19-16, but then China strung together a 6-1 run to win. In the fourth, with the USA leading 2-1, the score was tied 22-all, but stil China pulled out the victory. 

In the fifth set, USA head coach Karch Kiraly tried starting Karsta Lowe in place of Kelly Murphy on the right side, perhaps hoping to ignite a spark, but China put together its most dominant set performance of the match to win 25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-9.

China’s captain Zhu Ting blasted a match-high 25 points on 23 kills, a block, and an ace, while Kim Hill led the USA side with 24 points (22 kills, two blocks). USA middle Rachael Adams, playing for the first time since the first round of Worlds, had 15 points --12 kills on 17 swings and three blocks.

In a must-win situation the next night against the Netherlands, the USA won the first two sets, despite the Netherlands racing to a 9-2 lead in the first and holding that seven-point lead all the way to 18-11. After winning the first set in extra points, 32-30, the U.S. women were dominant in the second, winning 25-15.

The momentum shifted in the third, with the Netherlands going on a late 6-2 run to win 25-22, then crush the USA in the fourth 25-15. The fifth-set score went the Netherlands’ way 15-9.

Netherlands head coach Jamie Morrison, a former U.S. women’s national team assistant coach, made three major changes heading into that pivotal third set. He started Celeste Plak in place of Anne Buijs on the outside, Nicole Koolhaas took the place of Juliet Lohuis in the middle, and instead of Kirsten Knip in the libero jersey, he tapped Myrthe Schoot.

“We had people come off the bench today and do a good job,” Morrison said. “I told the team before the third set to take it one point at a time. It was a change of mentality and three substitutions that made the difference.”

Kiraly tried changing things up on his side of the net as well. Part way through the first set, Michelle Bartsch-Hackley subbed in for starting outside Hill, Lowe took the place of Kelly Murphy on the right, and Micha Hancock came in for Carli Lloyd at setter. 

After they spearheaded the massive first-set comeback, Karch kept his subs in to start the remaining sets, and Bartsch-Hackley and Lowe finished the match as the team’s top offensive contributors with 17 and 15 points respectively.

Hancock also retained the setting spot for the remainder of the match, a huge milestone for the two-time NCAA champion, who has played backup to Lloyd throughout her time with the national team.

Lonneke Sloetjes led the charge for the Dutch squad, collecting an insane 38 points on 32 kills, three blocks, and three aces. Coming off the bench, Plak added 16 points. As a team, the Netherlands out-blocked the USA 11 to seven and out-served the Americans 10 to two.

Two more matches remain in the third round, however, the semifinalists have already been determined. China and the Netherlands move on out of Pool H and Italy and Serbia, which both defeated Japan, advance from Pool G.