RIO DE JANEIRO _ Patience has been a key word for the U.S. women's volleyball team at these 2016 Summer Games.
The Americans are ranked No. 1 in the world but chasing their first Olympic gold after near misses in the past, and they know it will take a match-by-match approach.
This attitude served them well Tuesday in a quarterfinal victory over Japan at Maracanazinho Arena.
The Japanese are a relatively short team that compensates with quickness and tenacity, The U.S. had to keep hammering away at the net with their size advantage.
"It's frustrating against a great defensive team like Japan," captain Christa Harmotto Dietzen said. "It takes four or five swings sometimes for us to put the ball down."
So their straight-set win _ 25-16, 25-23, 22-22 _ was fueled by spikes and blocks.
"We don't have many tall players in our team," Japanese coach Masayoshi Manabe said.
The U.S. now advances to the semifinals against the winner of the Russia-Serbia match.
