Don't miss Valentina's spike at 0:53 in the video. That was at the 1990 World Championships in Beijing. Soviets played China for gold in front of probably 18,000 wildly cheering fans -- and no one was cheering for the Soviets. The story of that tourney, in China, was the great (Jenny) Lang Ping's comeback as a player, as a married player, kind of a first in China's male-controlled world of sports. She played really well, too, and pulled Team China into the finals. The fans adored her. But back to Valentina. Fifth set, tied at 14. Pins and needles in the arena. This is the crucial moment of the match, and one of the most remarkable attacks I've seen in the many years I covered international VB. I wrote about this for Volleyball Monthly, which a few oldies might remember. As Valentina moved right for a slide, you can see China's left-front blocker committed early on a cross-court shot, which was the safer swing. But this was Valentina's moment. She was the team captain and very much the spiritual leader. She saw the line open up, and she went for broke. The match had lasted at least a couple of hours by then, but check her elevation from her one-foot takeoff. You know, hitting the line there was at best a 60-40 proposition. A lot of things could have gone wrong, especially given that she wasn't particularly tall and had to be exhausted. Never mind that. She was strong, and she burned to win. She buried the ball in front of the 3-meter line to win the 14th point. You could hear the sharp thump when the ball hit the floor. Defenders had no chance. Watch the scene again; you'll see that. The play just devastated the opponents. That was the play of the match, of the tournament, of the year. And it won her team the gold medal, the world championship. And, of course, she played for many years and always was a big part of the team. She deserves to be in the American version of this international hall. I'm glad she was selected. By the way, the rapidly improving USA women earned a bronze medal in that tournament with a strong performance against Brazil. That was great to see, as well. Wishing you all continued success.
Very well deserved recognition. Bravo, Valentina!
Impresionante jugadora
The queen of Back slide spike!!
Mi favorita de toda la historia Rusa .además creo el entrenador nunca le llamo la atención porque su juego era casi perfecto 👌
Don't miss Valentina's spike at 0:53 in the video. That was at the 1990 World Championships in Beijing. Soviets played China for gold in front of probably 18,000 wildly cheering fans -- and no one was cheering for the Soviets. The story of that tourney, in China, was the great (Jenny) Lang Ping's comeback as a player, as a married player, kind of a first in China's male-controlled world of sports. She played really well, too, and pulled Team China into the finals. The fans adored her. But back to Valentina. Fifth set, tied at 14. Pins and needles in the arena. This is the crucial moment of the match, and one of the most remarkable attacks I've seen in the many years I covered international VB. I wrote about this for Volleyball Monthly, which a few oldies might remember. As Valentina moved right for a slide, you can see China's left-front blocker committed early on a cross-court shot, which was the safer swing. But this was Valentina's moment. She was the team captain and very much the spiritual leader. She saw the line open up, and she went for broke. The match had lasted at least a couple of hours by then, but check her elevation from her one-foot takeoff. You know, hitting the line there was at best a 60-40 proposition. A lot of things could have gone wrong, especially given that she wasn't particularly tall and had to be exhausted. Never mind that. She was strong, and she burned to win. She buried the ball in front of the 3-meter line to win the 14th point. You could hear the sharp thump when the ball hit the floor. Defenders had no chance. Watch the scene again; you'll see that. The play just devastated the opponents. That was the play of the match, of the tournament, of the year. And it won her team the gold medal, the world championship. And, of course, she played for many years and always was a big part of the team. She deserves to be in the American version of this international hall. I'm glad she was selected. By the way, the rapidly improving USA women earned a bronze medal in that tournament with a strong performance against Brazil. That was great to see, as well. Wishing you all continued success.
Thank you for this story☺️. She spiked it in under 4 meters😮
well desrserved....