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Thompson, who sat out the match after spraining her ankle on
Saturday, watched as setter Jordyn Poulter suffered the same
injury during the third set and was taken off the court in a
wheelchair.
The world number-one team eventually prevailed in the close
match, winning 21-25 25-16 25-27 25-16 15-12, and moving on to
the quarter-finals.
U.S. opposite Andrea Drews led the way with 22 points while four
others finished in double figures.
"We stayed together as a team," U.S. head coach Karch Kiraly
said after the game.
"We had great trust in each other and we executed a very good
game plan," he said, adding that Thompson was recovering and
there was some hope she might come back during the tournament.
Drews has high ambitions for her first Olympics.
"Of course, our ultimate goal is to get gold," the 27-year-old
said. "We have never done that before and we are working really
hard and diligently to do that."
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team was crushed by Turkey,
dropping to fourth in Pool B, while Turkey finished third.
Turkey fended off the ROC in full sets, driven by 16 blocks.
"We wanted to win this game so much before the final (knockout)
run," Turkey's captain Eda Erdem said, adding that their
determination powered their win.
Earlier, world champions Serbia overwhelmed South Korea in quick
straight sets 25-18 25-27 25-15, with 10 blocks and 13 serve
aces.
"I am happy with our performance today. Our serves and blocks
were very good," said Serbia's opposite spiker Tijana Boskovic.
"We are really excited and we are confident. We want to go to
semi-finals, of course," she said.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Karishma Singh)
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