"The US team is really strong, but by the fourth set we should have won but they didn't allow us to. It was very tough to put the match away."

"In yesterday's game (against Brazil), we had a few players getting injured but today they were well prepared and we were able to be in top form.

"I watched the US-China game and my impression was that the US had a very good chance in that game. Today's game, in the fourth set, it was very difficult for us to finish.

"But we gradually gained our momentum in he fifth set. I'm proud of my players and happy with the result."

Q: What's the difference between today and previously when you lost to big teams?

"Before we fought Russia and China (in Pool B) and they were pretty good games for us but we lost both 3-1. It was really hard for us.

"Recently, in the Grand Prix tournament, we fought China and Russia and both games we lost in five sets.

"That situation made us disappointed and gave us a bad feeling for a long time, even today. So, today's victory is really a happy one for us."

Oksana Guliyeva, Azerbaijan captain

"Yesterday, we lost to Brazil so we were determined to win today. When we got on the court, we were very focused. It was one of the best games in the tournament so we are happy about that.

"In terms of this tournament, we lost many games, some of them we should have won. We had an 80 per cent chance each time but we lost.

"We played the US before and we knew they had a good defence and good speed. So we learned a lesson from yesterday's game in reducing errors. Our victory is a result of our lessons learned."

Lang Ping, United States head coach

"Congratulations to Azerbaijan, they are a very good team. We knew this pool is very hard and our oppoents very strong.

"We used a couple of young players and at important times you could tell we didn't have enough experience on the court.

"We made lots of unforced errors and we must improve our side."

Robyn Ah Mow-Santos, United States captain

"At first we started off slow. We are still trying to figure how to stay at one level. When we play good, we are very good but when we are bad, we are really bad.

"It's just about trying to find some sort of consistency. Azerbaijan played really well, especially in the fourth and fifth sets."

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