U.S. women win volleyball opener

London, England – The United States kicked off the women's volleyball tournament by beating South Korea, while defending gold medalist Brazil barely defeated Turkey in another preliminary round match.

The U.S., which lost to Brazil in the gold medal game four years ago in Beijing, downed the Koreans in four sets. Meanwhile, Brazil needed five sets to down Turkey in its opening match, taking the final stanza by a 15-12 score.

Both the U.S. and Brazil are in Group B at the London Games and will face each other on Sunday when women's preliminary round action continues.

Hugh McCutcheon is coaching the U.S. women after leading the men to a gold medal four years ago in Beijing where his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was stabbed to death at a city landmark early in the competition.

China beat Serbia in the other Group B game, while Japan, Italy and Russia all won games in Group A. Japan and Russia posted straight-set victories over Algeria and Great Britain, respectively, but the Italians needed four sets to dispose of Dominican Republic.