2017 WORLD GRAND CHAMPIONS CUP
- Women – September 5-9
- Men – September 12-16
- Nagoya and Osaka, Japan
- Women – Schedule/Results
- Men – Schedule/Results
- WATCH LIVE
Team USA and Korea will look to pick up their first wins at the 2017 FIVB Women’s World Grand Champions Cup after losing their day one matches. This will be the third meeting between the two squads with the first two decisions coming at a split.
The most recent encounter between the two teams came at the 2015 World Cup where the Americans won in straight sets.
Korea opened up the Grand Champions Cup play with a straight-set loss against Japan. The Koreans have only won three of their 21 matches at the competition so far, making it the lowest amount by any team with 20 or more matches. Korea has struggled to place high at any international events, with their last coming in 1997 when they took the bronze medal at the World Grand Prix. Despite losing the match, Korea’s Ha Hyejin posted a match-best 20 points in the loss.
Team USA was defeated on day one of the World Grand Champions Cup by defending Olympic champions, China. This is the fourth time that the Americans have dropped their first match of the competition, winning the first only once before. They have not lost two straight matches at the tournament since their finish in 2001. The United States is the reigning world champions (2014), placed third at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and finished in fifth place at the World Grand Prix. Three veteran players led the scoring for Team USA – Rachael Adams (13), Foluke Akinradewo (12) and Jordan Larson (11).
You can watch the video streamed below on the FIVB YouTube page, or the matches will be aired on The Olympic Channel.
Editor’s note: Video not made available in the United States. If you are not in the United States, but an error in YouTube’s geolocation service is still blocking your access, you can use a program like TunnelBear to redirect to the proper country.
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