An almost unbelievable match in Rio saw the USA women’s volleyball team fall 3-2 after a valiant comeback fell just short at the Olympics on Thursday.
The Americans will now face China or the Netherlands for bronze on Saturday after losing 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 13-15.
The United States took the first set 25-20, but quickly found itself wobbling after an injury to star Foluke Akinradewo.
WATCH: Full match replay
Serbia dominated the second set 25-17 and blazed out to a 8-1 start in the third set. The Americans wouldn’t go away, and forced leading Serbia into a timeout at 22-20. That settled them down, and it finished 25-21.
At that point, it seemed Serbia’s Brankica Mihajlovic and Tijana Boskovic would be living in USA volleyball’s nightmares for a long, long time. The spikers were dominant in two sets that gave Serbia a 2-1 lead en route.
Karch Kiraly’s Yanks were not bowed, though, coming back to decisively win the fourth set 25-16. But Serbia rallied to win despite some final set heroics from Karsta Lowe.
