As a coach mourns, his team tries to regain focus

Venezuela's Ivan Marquez is helpless to stop Reid Priddy or the rest of the American team during their opening match. (koji sasahara/Associated Press)

BEIJING - Less than 24 hours after coach Hugh McCutcheon's father-in-law was stabbed to death while sightseeing, his US men's volleyball team took to the court with heavy hearts.

When the Americans stepped onto the floor before their opening match against Venezuela, they received warm applause from the crowd at Capital Indoor Stadium.

The Americans didn't wear any signs of condolence. There were no black armbands or patches on the uniforms. However, the team delayed the game's start to honor Todd Bachman, who was killed by a Chinese man while visiting the Drum Tower Saturday with his family. Members of the US team briefly linked arms and bowed their heads, but there was no outward show of emotion.

"We wanted to have a moment of silence before we gathered our thoughts. It was a moment of silence to honor Hugh's family and the Bachman family," said captain Thomas Hoff. "Hearing the news was tragic, startling, words can't describe it. All we were thinking was, 'What can I offer? What can the team do to offer to help?' We felt a feeling of hopelessness. We really felt the loss as if it was one of our own. That's why it hurt so much."

McCutcheon left the team indefinitely following the attack. His wife, Elisabeth, was with her parents at the Drum Tower, but she was not injured. However, his mother-in-law, Barbara, is in stable condition after enduring eight hours of surgery for multiple lacerations and stab wounds.

Rob Browning, liaison for the US team, said the players had done as well as can be expected to get themselves prepared to play.

"We made a point of making sure things were as normal as possible," Browning said. "After Hugh spoke to the team last night, the boys were ready to get their rest and get ready for their match today."

Following their brief tribute, the US men turned their attention to Venezuela, winning the first two games by identical 25-18 scores.

However, the Americans lost the next two games - their opponents boosted by entire sections of yellow-shirted fans chanting "Ven-e-zue-la!" - before coming back to post a 15-10 victory in Game 5. The Americans will meet Italy tomorrow.

After the match, American Riley Salmon jumped into the arms of teammate Clayton Stanley, and the players acknowledged with waves a standing ovation from many in the stands.

"It's been tough the last 24 hours," Hoff said. "It is hard to continue on. [We] came out in the fifth set with a lot of pressure and execution on the floor is very important to us players."

Stanley had a match-high 22 points with 21 kills and a block. Reid Priddy totaled 17 points with 12 kills, 3 blocks, and 2 aces. David Lee contributed 14 points with eight kills, a match-high five blocks, and an ace.

"[The match] had a lot of ebbs and flows," said interim coach Ron Larsen. "Early on, we were playing at a fairly good level. They had difficulty returning the serve. We knew Venezuela was a very physical team. We knew they played with a certain emotion."

Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympic organizing committee, said yesterday that security in and around the Olympic venues was already sufficient but would be increased at scenic spots around the city.

He said Chinese investigators and US Embassy officials believe the attack was "an isolated incident" and suggested such random acts are difficult to prevent.

"Beijing is a safe city, but unfortunately we are not immune to violent acts," Wang said.

Interpol said initial investigations found nothing indicating the attack was linked to terrorism or organized crime.

There was no indication that the assailant, Tang Yongming, 47, knew that his victims had any connection to the Games, according to Olympic and Chinese authorities. After the attack, Tang leapt to his death.

Material from Globe wire services was used in this report.