Punahou graduate Lindsey Berg is one of four players with Hawai'i ties on the U.S. Women's volleyball team. Her father, Dennis, is contributing to The Advertiser's coverage from Beijing.

BEIJING, Aug. 13 — The good news is that Team USA won the match, and decisively in three of the four games, 25-17, 20-25, 25-14, 25-18. The bad news is that it was a definite struggle, especially while losing the second game with starters still playing (same as previous matches but with Kim Glass in for Kim Willoughby) and Venezuela giving us nine points with service errors.

I am not sure how to describe how painful it is to watch the USA playing the way it is. Maybe it is like my family having to watch me, as old as dirt, with bad knees and a bad back, walking and climbing steps on the Great Wall. We need to significantly improve our ballhandling and level of readiness in order to have a reasonable chance of beating China and/or Poland to finish any higher than fourth in our group. Fourth is not where the USA wants to be with a cross-over in the quarters to play No. 1 in the other group.

Enough volleyball, the Great Wall was spectacular. My words cannot give one of the seven wonders of the world justice. Maybe a description could be if the Pali Highway was a walking bridge 15 feet wide instead of a highway, the topography and sites could be comparable.

We have no hesitation about going out (after the attack on the Bachman family). We are just being exceptionally aware of the surroundings. When you go out, anywhere at anytime, the crowds of people in the city are comparable to how it would be at Ala Moana on the three days before Christmas ... times 10. I knew about the population of China, but it takes being here to really comprehend it.

We will now be attending men's indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, athletics and basketball over the next few days. I understand the men's USA volleyball team is still undefeated, with Marc Haine leading Clay Stanley's extended family in support.