GANNETT NEWS SERVICE MULTIMEDIA                                                                    Olympics home | E-mail feedback

August 24, 2004 11:27 am

U.S. to play Greece in men's volleyball

By STEVE RIVERA

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Clay Stanley isn't worried about any home court advantage when the U.S. men's volleyball team faces Greece on Wednesday at Peace and Friendship Stadium.

``I think it's great; I enjoy all those fans screaming and cheering,'' said Stanley, 26, of Honolulu. ``I think they're going to have half their country there. It's going to be good.''

Stanley said he likes the way his team is playing as it goes into the quarterfinals after finishing third at 3-2 in pool play after beating No. 1 seed Brazil on Monday.

``That was a strange match,'' Stanley said. ``I'm not sure anyone knows what happened.''

Team USA, the fifth-ranked team in the world, gained the No. 3 seed in pool B after Brazil played a surprisingly lackluster match. Greece (3-2) finished as the No. 2 seed in pool A.

``I think it put us in a good spot,'' Stanley said. ``We're one game away from being in the medal round. Greece is a weaker team than Serbia-Montenegro (No. 1 seed in pool A). Now we just have to do our job.''

Team USA has played Greece once before, beating them 3-2 in the pre-Olympic tournament last month in Belgrade.

``It's going to be a tough battle,'' said Reid Priddy, 26. ``Playing in front of 10,000 people will be fascinating. We know the Greek team, they know us. There are no secrets between us. The best team will qualify for the semifinals.''

If Brazil defeats Poland and the U.S. beats Greece, Team USA will face Brazil again in Friday's semifinals.

ADVERTISEMENT