Former Nebraska volleyball player Kelsey Robinson came up big for the United States women’s national team by delivering eight of her match-high 27 points in the tiebreaking firth set to rally the Americans past Russia 24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 15-8 on Friday to begin the FIVB World Cup’s final phase taking place in Osaka, Japan. Both teams entered the match at 7-1 with the winner getting a clear shot of controlling their destiny for the silver medal.
Team USA, ranked No. 3 in the world, improved to 8-1 overall in the 12-team round robin World Cup. With two matches remaining in the triple-crown tournament the Americans are in the driver’s seat for silver with only a very slim chance at gold (China must lose twice and USA win twice).