BEIJING 2008 OLYMPICS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former UH standout Clay Stanley and Lloy Ball failed to block the shot from Todor Aleksiev of Bulgaria.
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Stanley has U.S. perfect
BEIJING » Led by former Hawaii opposite Clay Stanley's 18 kills, the U.S. Olympic Men's Indoor Volleyball Team, rallied to defeat fourth-ranked Bulgaria 27-29, 25-21, 25-14, 26-24 yesterday at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium.
Team USA, ranked third in the world, improved to 3-0 in Pool A, while Bulgaria falls to 2-1. The Americans, who play host China tomorrow, are in first as the lone undefeated team and guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals.
Stanley added two blocks and an ace. Ryan Millar put down 14 kills.
"We started slow, but got better as the game progressed," interim U.S. head coach Ron Larsen said. "I thought we did a wonderful job of playing some block defense against them. We started digging a lot of balls and blocking, and I thought we started transitioning really well."
The U.S. trailed for most of Set 4, finally gaining match point at 24-22. Bulgaria rallied to tie at 24, but kills by Millar and Stanley closed it out.