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August 29, 2004 10:53 am

Men's volleyball team improves, but still no medal

By ELLIOTT DENMAN

Gannett News Service

PIRAEUS, Greece - We're No. 4, we're No. 4.

USA Olympic volleyball players weren't exactly shrieking for joy, pointing four fingers skyward, after they'd lost the bronze medal match to Russia, three sets to none, on the final day of the Athens Olympics.

But at least they knew that they were making some kind of progress after finishing 11th at Sydney in 2000 and ninth at Atlanta in 1996.

``Sure, this is disappointing to our team,'' said U.S. three-time Olympian and veteran setter Lloy Ball of Woodburn, Ind., after the final numbers went up: 25-22, 27-25, 25-16.

``You always want to win the last game of a tournament and come home with a present, but there was no present for us.''

The Russian team, with their seven-footers, were too tall and too tough.

``Still, a month ago, if you said we'd be playing for a medal, I'd have taken it in a New York minute,'' Ball said.

It was Ball's last game in a United States uniform. He's announced his retirement from international play.

In the clash of former Cold War rivals at the appropriately named Peace and Friendship Stadium, Team USA had numerous chances in the first two sets but lost all the critical points. The third set was virtually all Russia. The big blockers up front turned aside U.S. rally after rally.

The United States led 22-21 in the first set, but Serguey Tetyukhin came up with the big spikes to put Russia over the top. Then, the United States had two set points and a chance to even the match in the second set, only to have Alexei Kazakov and Alexander Kosarev block their chances away.

Clay Stanley of Honolulu, a University of Hawaii graduate, was a key offensive force for the Americans with a team-leading 10 spikes. Though a long way from his hometown, he must have felt comfortable playing here - he also plays for the Panathanikos club team in the Greek pro league.

Reid Priddy, who went to high school in Phoenix, will head to a season in the Italian pro league with his own set of disappointments.

``We kept it close but they had the strength and the blockers,'' said Priddy, who was credited with four blocks.

``There's no question that we're making progress. We're just as athletic a team as, say, Brazil. But we need to do a better job, emotionally and physically, to move up.

``I'd say that these have been the most draining matches we've ever played in. We gave it all we had, but that wasn't enough.''

Reserve middle blocker Phillip Eatherton, a former All-American at Ball State, described the Olympic experience as ``phenomenal.''

``Living in the Olympic Village, with all these great athletes from around the world, that's been incredible,'' Eatherton said. ``Our team had its chances. We were there, we were playing for a medal. We just couldn't beat a very good Russian team.''

Brazil, which had beaten the United States in the semifinals, went on to defeat Italy 25-15, 24-26, 25-20, 25-22 in the gold-medal game.

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