Nagoya, Japan, October 15, 2018 - Lonneke Sloetjes scored a match-high 38 points as the Netherlands stormed back to beat the United States 3-2 (30-32, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-9) in the third round at the FIVB Women's World Championship on Monday and the coach of the Dutch team credited the team's depth after the win.
Netherlands coach Jamie Morrison: I'm proud of my team. We continue to find ways to win in difficult situations. We had people come off the bench today and do a good job. We continue to make history and we are not finished yet. I told the team before the third set to take it one point at a time. It was a change of mentality and three substitutions that made the difference. We have a very deep team. We have versatile depth. Sloetjes is one of the top three players in the world.
Netherlands captain Maret Balketstein-Grothues: We are very happy with the victory. We were eight points up and lost the first set but we kept our belief and kept fighting. We did an amazing job today and I'm very proud of my team.
USA coach Karch Kiraly: It was a great battle. We fought hard to come back in the first set. Ultimately the result is very disappointing. They made some changes and we wasted chances in the third set. You have to be good at converting those chances against a team like the Netherlands.
USA captain Jordan Larson: It is a disappointing loss. The Netherlands played well. There were moments where I thought we had it, but we let it slip away.