BEIJING - Not the Chinese crowd cheering U.S. coach Lang Ping's name, not the constant substitutions, not the relentless play of outside hitter Logan Tom.

None of it was enough to help the U.S. women's volleyball team end its unexpected Olympic experience on the ideal note.

Brazil, the No.1-ranked team in the world, was just that good.

In fact, that the U.S. was able to take a single set from the Brazilians was considered something of an accomplishment, because no other team in this tournament did.

Despite losing 25-15, 18-25, 25-13, 25-21, the U.S. women matched their best-ever Olympic performance, equaling the silver won in 1984. The U.S. won bronze in 1992.

"Everyone's a little bitter that we lost, but we don't have anything to be disappointed about," said Tom, who tried to lift her team past Brazil with a team-high 15 kills, nine digs and an ace. "I think all our girls are thinking like that."

The Americans, ranked fourth in the world, were considered questionable medal contenders given their inability to break through in major international events over the past four years.

But playing under former Chinese national team member Jenny Lang Ping in her home country helped the team bond. And the tragic stabbing death in Beijing of Todd Bachman, whose daughter Elisabeth is the wife of men's coach Hugh McCutcheon and a former U.S. Olympic team member, brought the team closer.

By the time the Americans reached the gold medal match, they had beaten five of the top nine ranked teams in the world, building the team's confidence to the point where it thought Brazil was beatable.

In the end, though, the Brazil block was just too formidable, sending back Tom's kill attempts for two of the last three points of the match.

"We had to play the No. 1 team in the world, and we fought and we got a game off them, and we actually could have taken them to five," said U.S. setter Lindsey Berg, who was one of several non-starters Ping played in an attempt to find the right combination. "We're just thrilled. It's hard that it ends with a loss, but we got a silver medal at the Olympic Games, nothing that anyone on our team has ever gotten, and it's just been a wonderful experience."

Adding to the experience was Ping's journey. She had coached the U.S. versus China before, but not at an Olympics. Though she would have preferred gold, which she won as a player with China in 1984, Ping was able to elevate the U.S. to silver status and watched China take bronze by defeating Cuba earlier in the day.

Throughout the match, the Chinese fans chanted "Lang Ping, let's go!" in their native language whenever the U.S. needed an emotional boost.

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