USA - Japan (World Grand Prix 2013 Final Six, full match)

USA defeated Japan 3:2 (17:25, 25:19, 18:25, 25:17, 15:12) in the last match of the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals on Sunday at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center. Japan finished in fourth place in the final standing with five points while USA finished on 6th place with three points. Italy were fifth with four points. Japan, Italy and USA finished with 1-4 records. Brazil were champions, followed by China and Serbia. Japan have now lost their last seven matches against USA in the World Grand Prix. Japan’s Yukiko Ebata was the top scorer in the match with 24 points, while the top scorer for USA was Nicole Fawcett with 22 points. USA had the advantage in blocking points 11-9 but Japan had the edge in service points, 4-2. Japan made 22 errors to USA’s 31. Japan captain Saori Kimura said: "I really wanted to win today’s match. The team couldn’t make it in the end and that’s a shame. In the matches that went to five sets it seems that this team can’t win, so we have to address that".

#YukikoEbataYukiko #NicoleFawcett #Japan #USA #WorldGrandPrix2013