NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 15 -- Both Japan and the United States suffered their second straight loss in the third round of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship here on Monday, sending China, the Netherlands, Serbia, Italy to the semifinals.

Hosts Japan lost to Italy 3-2 after an intense game Monday night, with the scores of the five sets standing at 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 13-15, respectively.

"We lost the chance to win a medal at this tournament. I felt disappointed. We still have one more match, and I hope we will do our best," said Japan coach Kumi Nakada after the match.

"There is still a big difference between us and the world's best level... We did our best in all our games, but the opponents were so strong. We can not just make the gap disappear, but will just try to improve ourselves and narrow the gap," she said.

Earlier in the day, the Netherlands edged the reigning champions United States 3-2, with the scores of the five sets 30-32, 15-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-9.

"It was a disappointing result. I want to congratulate the Netherlands. We fought hard to come back in the first set. Ultimately the result is very disappointing," said United States coach Karch Kiraly after the game.

Each with two straight losses, Japan and the United States lost any chance to qualify for the semifinals, and will fight for the fifth place.

On Tuesday, China will play the Netherlands, and Italy will fight Serbia in their last matches of the third round of the tournament. The semifinals will be held on Friday.

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