WARSAW, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. women's volleyball team extended their winning streak to five matches as they beat Italy 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18) in the volleyball Olympic qualifying tournament in Lodz, Poland on Friday.
Opposite Jordan Thompson led her team to a massive victory with 24 points, while outside hitter Kelsey Robinson delivered 16 points. Opposite Ekaterina Antropova earned 20 points for Italy.
Davide Mazzanti's players committed more errors and granted 24 points to the U.S., who lost 14 points on errors.
After losin 25-19 in the first set, Italy reacted in the best possible way by nailing down the second set 25-23, as Antropova poured in nine points with seven attacks, one block and one ace.
Olympic champions the U.S. secured the following sets for a fifth win in their Pool C campaign, keeping a firm grip on the top position with a perfect record.
Italy is second with four triumphs, and Poland follows, also with a 4-1 record.
Earlier on Friday, hosts Poland beat Germany in a five-set thriller 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12), thanks to Martyna Czyrnianska's spike and an effective double block in the dying minutes of the tie-break.
On Saturday Poland will play against the United States, Thailand faces South Korea, and Italy battles against Germany. ■
