US meet Brazil in women's volleyball final

Getty Images / Getty Images Europe

Not even the brilliance of Kim Yeong-koun could stop the United States from booking their place in a third Olympic volleyball final with a 3-0 win.

Kim has carried South Korea through the tournament, getting them out of a testing group and then single-handedly destroying Italy in the quarter-finals.
But on Thursday it was a game too far for the 24-year-old who was powerless to stop the relentless American front line, with Hugh McCutcheon's side putting themselves three sets away from what would be a first-ever gold medal after the (25-20 25-22 25-22) win.
Kim was restricted to just 20 points - a low score for her - as the States built a near-impenetrable wall at the net, winning 11 points on the block.
Destinee Hooker, the player of the tournament, again led the way for McCutcheon, top-scoring with 24 points, while her usual partners in crime were not too far away, with Foluke Akinradewo adding 12 and Jordan Larson 14.
Statistically there was actually little to choose between the sides apart from on the block, with the main difference being America's ability to string points together at crucial times.
It was point-for-point through to 15-all in the first set until some dogged defence from Lindsey Berg allowed them to win a point they had no right to. From there, they won three in a row and put the first set to bed.
The second followed a similar pattern, before Kim took a hold and helped South Korea edge ahead to 20-17. They could not preserve it, however, with the speed of Berg's serves allowing the likes of Larson and Hooker to pick and choose when they found the floor.
The third set was more of a routine affair with South Korea clearly beaten apart from a mini-resurgence in the middle stages, with Logan Tom wrapping things up with a spike that flew off the hands of Kim Hae-Ran.
Later, defending champions Brazil set up a repeat of the 2008 Olympic volleyball final with the United States by seeing off Japan in straight sets (25-18 25-15 25-18) on Thursday night.
The South Americans have been slow burners this tournament, only scraping through the group stages at the death, but have come into their own since the knockout stages begun.
They subjected Russia to their first defeat of 2012 in the quarter-finals and tonight disposed of a Japan side who had also had to scrap their way to the last four.
China were their quarter-final victims in a five-set struggle and they still seemed to be feeling the pace tonight as Brazil had too much size and strength for them to handle.
The Japanese opt for a quick and subtle style owing to their lack of height and against sides of a similar nature, such as China, that can prove beneficial.
But against Brazil their agility and nimbleness counted for little as they were thumped out of sight, with the likes of Sheilla (13 points) and Thaisa (12) utterly dominant at the net.
There was much to be pleased about for the Americans, but perhaps the most satisfying element was the fitness of Berg.
A huge doubt after suffering a knee injury four days ago, she managed to take to the court as though nothing had ever been wrong. Her setting was impeccable throughout and she now has the chance to retire with a gold medal to her name.
"I feel okay now, my team helped me a lot. I don't need to run around. Saturday I will play my best. If after the match I can't walk, I will still try to fight, but I don't care if I can't walk so long as we win," she said.
"We didn't play our best in the tournament so far today [Thursday]. Hopefully we will play our best in the gold medal match. We did play better after we reached 20 points."
For his part, Korea coach Kim Hyung-Sil had complaints about the outcome.
"USA played like a number one team," he said.
"They had the height, speed and the ability to adjust on court. Our blocks were poor, which meant we did not perform. We now need to work for the bronze medal. Whether we play Brazil or Japan. We still need to improve."