Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 17, 2015 – Defending FIVB Volleyball World League champions USA and France were both able to celebrate qualification for Saturday’s semifinals after the USA won 3-1 on Friday.
David Lee, USA captain: “I’m really proud of our team tonight. Our backs were up against the wall and we needed a win and needed 3-0 or 3-1 and we pulled it off. Tonight our service game was much better than last night. Our defence was what made the difference.”
John Speraw, USA coach: “I’m obviously very excited that we have the opportunity to continue on in this tournament. I’m proud of our team and their ability to come back after last night’s emotional loss to Brazil. It’s always difficult when you play the home team and lose. I thought we put a lot of emotional energy into the match. For us to regroup and come back and play that well was really gratifying.
“I’m excited about the next phase of the tournament. We’re just grateful that we can continue to play these great teams. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw France again. I have a lot of respect for what coach Tillie is doing in France and I think they’re a great volleyball team. I wish them the best of luck in the rest of the tournament.”
Laurent Tillie, France coach: “I’m really surprised to be qualified. We started the match without a good attitude. USA played so well in block defence, serve and spike and we were not ready to fight. It was ok if we lost, but I wanted some fighting spirit. We only found that in the third set and that saved us. I just want to remember this because the USA were way better than us in all aspects.”
Benjamin Toniutti, France captain: “I’m happy to be qualified, but I’m not happy about the game because we didn't play well today. They made a lot of pressure with the service and the block and we didn't find a solution. On the third set we were with minus six on the score, but we came back, I don’t know how, but we came back and we won the third set and we are qualified.”