Bush's Blog Women's Preview; USA vs. Korea

by Phil Bush

Phil Bush, FIVB Broadcaster

Over the previous three decades, you'd be hard pressed to find someone in athletics with a greater level of expertise in volleyball production and promotion than Phil Bush.  He will be entering his fourth year working for the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as a broadcaster on the FIVB “Match of the Week.”  He has also handled 17 seasons working for FSN South, ESPNU, CSS and Sun Sports providing both play-by-play and color analysis on volleyball broadcasts.  Through his MavRen Marketing & Productions company, Bush has worked in the production and promotion of volleyball events for over 25 years. 


                                                   

vs.

              Saturday, 3PM ET              

The Opening Ceremonies loom, but the USA Women will be focused on their first match against an opponent they are heavily favored in South Korea.  The problem is that when you are heavily favored, it can work against you. Your opponent has nothing to lose and if you come out even a little bit flat, things can start to go downhill quickly.  

Hugh McCutcheon

This has likely been taken into account by the very experienced USA coaching staff, but there will be moments where the line-up may change very quickly to keep giving the USA what I would call an “on-going” advantage.  The interesting make-up of Team USA will be fun to watch.  Hugh McCutcheon will not be afraid to mix things up often against Korea, particularly if any player for Team USA comes out even a little bit flat.  One of the strengths of this team is that it has a very deep bench, and anyone who thinks that Team USA is all about the starting lineup - just watch.  The coaching staff will keep moving things around so they accomplish several things at once:

-  Win and win convincingly.
-  Get many players acclimated to the Games – particular Destinee Hooker, who can play a deciding role in practically any rally.  I don’t think this will be difficult because both USA teams are accustomed to life on the road.
  -  Prevent other teams from focusing on any one combination of players – mixing the line-up is something that McCutcheon may do at seemingly strange times, but there is always a process and a purpose that leads toward the long term goal.
-  Set the stage for the upcoming back-to-back confrontations with Brazil and China.  Team USA will want to be confident and ready to take on the great teams of the world.  If you are a coach for the opposing team, the USA will be very difficult to define coming out of this first match.

Yeon-Koung Kim

For Korea, while they cannot match up physically with Team USA at the net, this is a team that will be something like a counter-puncher taking multiple shots looking to get one in.  The player where the majority of those shots will come from will be the 24 year-old young gun, Yeon-Koung Kim.  Kim was awarded the Best Attacker and Best Scorer award at the Asian Women's Championship a year ago, leading her team to a bronze with a victory over Thailand.  At last year's FIVB World Cup, Kim finished as the fifth-highest scorer and was MVP of Japan's V-League in 2011.  She continued her strong play this year with her Turkish Fenerbahce club of the CEV Champions League, finishing the season as their top scorer and MVP.

Sa-Nee Kim

Another player to watch will be captain Sa-Nee Kim.  A 13-year veteran of the national team, as both the captain and setter she directs the team on and off the court.  She will have an especially vital role to feed the aforementioned Yeon-Koung if they want to keep up with Team USA's firepower.  The 31 year-old has an impressive international resume  playing in the FIVB World Cup in 2007, two FIVB World Grand Champions Cups (2005, 2009), three FIVB World Championships (2002, 2006, 2010) and nine FIVB World Grand Prix.  Domestically, she plays her club volleyball for Korean Tobacco and Ginseng where she is reportedly the highest paid player in the Korean league.

While Korea may be out-gunned, they will look to extend rallies as long as possible.  Nothing will come easy against Team USA, but Korea has been known for long rallies and great defense for many, many years, and the Korean squad will want to come out and establish some momentum for the rest of the tourney.  Put more simply: even if you lose to the U.S., you look for small victories during the match and find a way to use that moving forward.

This is a match that will tell us a lot about the strategy of Team USA as the Olympics go on.  Look for the coaching staff to be true to their process, but if changes need be made on the fly, McCutcheon has shown he will do just that.

Next Match:  USA vs. Brazil - July 30th at 11:45AM ET

Stay tuned!


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