Italy Captain Cristina Chirichella: We were able to play very well today because we were so focused. The United States also played well so it was a very hard game. The USA team plays at a fast pace and they have some big hitters. In the third set we lost our focus but we were able to get back in the fourth set to win the match.
Italy Coach Davide Mazzanti: Today's match was very important to preserve the No. 1 ranking through the second round. It was also important for our confidence going into the next round. I am very proud of my team because we researched the play of the American team to know about their style and we were able to beat this strong team.
USA No. 16 Foluke Akinradewo: I think this is obviously a very disappointing loss for us. We do not want to go into a match and allow another team to dictate our destiny. Hats off to Italy. I think they played really disciplined block defence. Italy played well and I think we definitely did not play our best today.
USA Captain Jordan Larson: Obviously we are disappointed with this result. I thought we fought hard throughout the entire match. Italy played a great match.
USA Coach Karch Kiraly: Compliments to Italy. They have been playing very strong volleyball this tournament. Coach Davide has been doing a very nice job with them and I respect his work. We are quite disappointed with this loss. Volleyball is played by human beings who are not perfect, thank God for that, and both China and Italy played really nice strong volleyball and put us in difficult positions. We will not watch the match (China v Russia) but we know Russia has to be very excited at their chance. They have been playing very good volleyball and they have a good chance to advance. If they do, we don't - and that is sometimes how tournaments go.