It was a thriller in front of a packed house at South Paris Arena 1 on Monday.
The United States’ quest for back-to-back Olympic gold medals hit an early snag.
Team USA dropped the first two sets. then tried for a comeback tying the match two sets all and forcing a fifth set — but China proved to be too much.
Coppell’s Chiaka Ogbogu a middle blocker for Team USA finished with 9 kills on 16 attempts and 4 blocks on 17 attempts. (check out the highlights in the video above)
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China earns two points with the win, putting them in first place in the pool standings for now, with matches coming between Serbia and France.
The U.S. received one point in the match.
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With the win, China now moves up in the FIVB World Rankings, taking the fifth spot as the Americans fall to sixth.
NBA superstar and Golden State Warrior Steph Curry was in the building to watch the match.
Team USA will face off against Serbia at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday.
