U.S. volleyball team bounces back for win

This win was oh, so Priddy.

Reid Priddy, the leading hitter for the United States national volleyball team, led his teammates to a three-games-to-one victory over Serbia and Montenegro in a World League volleyball match Saturday in the Spokane Arena’s Star Theater, 27-25, 25-22, 25-27, 25-21.

The match was played before 1,651 fans.

Priddy, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter from Loyola Marymount with a thunderbolt for a right arm, powered his way to 19 kills, with a big assist from Clayton Stanley, a 6-9 opposite from Hawaii who came off the bench to add eight kills and stuff block Serbia and Montenegro’s most potent weapon for match point.

Ivan Miljkovic, the 6-7 Serbian scoring machine, led all players with a game-high 25 for a two-game total of 50. Whenever Serbia and Montenegro needed a point, it turned to Miljkovic, who rarely failed to deliver.

That is until match point, when Stanley and Phillip Eatherton combined to stuff him.

“The thing about Serbia and Montenegro, when you go back and you look at film of how they play, there really isn’t that much special about their offense,” Priddy said. “They just have a bunch of guys who execute really well.”

The United States, on the other hand, was more than willing to go in different directions. James Polster, for example, added a dozen kills. Friday night, three players, led by Priddy, had more than 10.

Serbia and Montenegro, already playing a man short after outside hitter Joran Bojan was unable to make connecting flights into Spokane, was without its captain, Goran Vujevic, Saturday. Vujevic’s mother died suddenly and he flew home early Saturday morning.

“I’m very sorry for what happened,” Miljkovic said of his teammate. “But with him or without him, we had to play a much better team tonight.”

The Americans’ victory avenged an embarrassing loss in the first match of the two-match World League series.

Friday night, the U.S. team came out on an emotional high and stormed to a first-set win, then watched Serbia and Montenegro storm back from the brink of losing the second to win three straight sets and take the match.

Saturday night, the emotional fire wasn’t stoked as high, replaced by a burning desire to show the former Yugoslavia that the United States is, indeed, the better team.

“We went back and looked at the tape from (Friday) night,” Priddy said. “It was a pretty somber time.

“I think we came out more determined.”

Stanley’s contribution was clutch, U.S. coach Hugh McCutcheon said.

“We were late getting Clay back from Greece, where he plays professionally, and he was a little banged up once he got here. We’ve been working on him and trying to get him back out there.”