Kobe, Japan, September 29, 2018 - The United States began their defence of the Women's World Championship with a hard-fought 3-0 victory over a powerful Azerbaijan.
USA Captain Jordan Larson: I think they (Azerbaijan) came out strong in the first set and continued to press us throughout the match. I am really proud of my team for handling some adversities during the three sets.
Coach Karch Kiraly: I want to compliment the Azerbaijan team for playing very hard. They have some attackers that are difficult to defend. It was a great challenge for us and we look forward to more in this tournament.
Azerbaijan Captain Odina Aliyeva: It was a very tough game. We played well in the first set but then we made too many mistakes. The USA team have a lot of experience and were able to deal with this situation.
Assistant Coach Famil Aghayev: The USA is a very strong team and played well in all three sets. After the first set we could not recover our energy.