BEIJING — Inside raucous Capital Gymnasium was the one place where life seemed normal to Hugh McCutcheon.

In the back-and-forth of a gold- medal Olympic volleyball match against Brazil, the American coach could lose himself in tactics and substitution patterns and other technical matters.

But McCutcheon's concentration collapsed as soon as the final point slipped through a Brazilian player's hands, and American players spilled onto the floor and to the edge of the stands to celebrate a remarkable 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-23 victory Sunday.

Instead of joining them, McCutcheon vanished into a tunnel and broke down - 15 days after the parents of his wife, Elisabeth, were attacked and her father, Todd Bachman, 62, was killed by a knife-wielding Chinese man during a tour of the Drum Tower near the Forbidden City.

Before the match Sunday, the Bachman family announced the funeral will be held Friday.

"Todd would've been - I want to say is - extremely proud of what this team accomplished," said McCutcheon, who missed the team's first three matches to be with his grieving wife.

"Because it hasn't been easy. When you throw in the emotional load that the team has had to bear collectively, for them to come through and be this good, it's a wonderful achievement. . . .

"On one hand, I mourn the loss of my father-in-law, and my heart aches for my wife and our family for the loss. On the other hand, I am extremely proud and happy of my team for the thing we've been able to achieve."

Two days after beating the Russians in five sets in the semifinals, the U.S. dropped the first set against Brazil. But the Americans were all over the floor in the second, repeatedly digging themselves out of trouble with remarkable moves and shots.

"I hope people realize that there were points in this game that don't usually happen," outside hitter Reid Priddy said.

In the third and fourth sets, Brazil appeared to wilt under the Americans' relentless attack, committing 13 service errors.

"They came out hot and heavy in that first set, and then we kind of got our own back there in the second. After that, it was just a couple of heavyweights duking it out," McCutcheon said.

Initially, McCutcheon wanted to leave Beijing, but his wife convinced him to remain, saying too many people were depending on him.

Elisabeth returned to Minnesota with her mother, Barbara, who is recovering from wounds suffered in the attack. The assailant took his own life by jumping from the Drum Tower.

"I'm sorry for what has happened to the Bachmans and to Hugh," outside hitter Scott Tou- zinsky said.

"Obviously, this isn't going to bring Wiz's dad back," he said, using Elisabeth's nickname. "But, hopefully, it can give them a little strength to keep on going on with their lives and keep his memory alive."

McCutcheon didn't say much when he phoned his wife before the medals ceremony.

"You won, you won," Elisabeth said as soon as she picked up the phone.

"There was nothing left to say," McCutcheon added. "We were just kind of listening to each other, smiling into the phone."

U.S. 3, Brazil 1

U.S.20 25 25 25

Brazil25 22 21 23

U.S., spiker - Salmon (26-12). Blocker - Lee (19-5). Server - Stanley (20-2). Scorer - Stanley (66-20).

Brazil, spiker - Endres (23-12). Blocker - Heller (18-5). Server - Endres (14-2). Scorer - Amaral (53-15).

Referees - Ning Wang, China; Bela Hobor, Hungary.