Italy beats defending champion US for gold in women’s volleyball at Paris Olympics

PARIS (AP) — Monica De Gennaro of Italy made three earlier journeys to the Olympics solely to depart empty-handed every time.

Lastly, at age 37, she’s going house with the gold.

Italy beat the defending champion U.S. staff Sunday to win gold in girls’s volleyball on the Paris Olympics.

“It feels particular,” she mentioned. “It’s the dream of each participant to play within the closing of the Olympics and win it. It’s one thing distinctive. We labored so onerous for therefore a few years to have the ability to attain this closing.”

When Italy scored the match level to finish it, most of the gamers collapsed to the courtroom, then started hugging in an enormous scrum. Collectively they tossed De Gennaro into the air.

The victory got here in straight units, 25-18, 25-20, 25-17. The Italians ended a dominant match having misplaced only one set.

It’s the primary medal within the sport for top-ranked Italy and sends the People house in disappointment after they received their first Olympic title in Tokyo. It’s an enormous win for the Italians, whose earlier greatest Olympic end was fifth.

“It means all the pieces,” Alessia Orro mentioned. “There’s lots of onerous work, lots of sweat, many sacrifices and lots of disappointments which have introduced us this far. They made us take this path, they made us win the gold.”

The victory got here in entrance of a boisterous crowd at South Paris Enviornment, the place many followers waved Italian and U.S. flags. Folks danced and cheered because the Italians romped to the win.

The U.S. was up 6-5 within the third set earlier than Italy scored the following seven factors to take a 12-6 lead. The People fought again, scoring three of the following 4 factors.

The U.S. obtained inside 19-16 earlier than Italy closed it out with a 6-1 run capped by the match level by Paola Egonu, who had a dominant efficiency, scoring 22 factors.

“It’s magnificent,” Italy’s Caterina Bosetti mentioned. “It’s the match that I’ve been ready for all my life.”

Myriam Sylla beamed whereas carrying her gold medal as she spoke to reporters after the win. The 29-year-old, who was a first-time Olympian, was requested the way it felt round her neck.

“It’s heavy like … the journey that we did to realize it,” she mentioned.

The silver end by the People offers them a seventh Olympic medal to make them the winningest nation within the volleyball.

“I’ll stroll away being very proud that we had been capable of play on the final day of competitors,” American Jordyn Poulter mentioned. “And I believe it feels much more candy to us due to simply all that now we have gone by way of as a staff.”

Italy swept Turkey in straight units to achieve the ultimate whereas the U.S. beat Brazil in a five-set thriller for its spot within the sport.

U.S. coach Karch Kiraly modified the lineup after a five-set loss to China on July 29 to start out group-stage play. He moved veterans Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson Prepare dinner to the bench in favor of Avery Skinner and Kathryn Plummer.

The transfer labored, and the staff defeated Serbia the following trip to get again on observe. However on Sunday, it wasn’t sufficient to get previous the mighty Italian staff and repeat as champions.

Kiraly was impressed with the best way his staff fought by way of adversity to achieve the ultimate.

“It was completely superior to see that once we obtained pushed to the restrict … how succesful this group was, how a lot resolve it had, how a lot grit it had,” he mentioned. “That was in all probability the most effective factor to be taught in these Olympics.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games