Semi Sweet! U.S. Women Sweep Türkiye in World QFs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 11, 2022) – The U.S. Women’s National Team swept Türkiye (25-22, 25-15, 25-20) on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals of the FIVB World Championship in Gliwice, Poland.

The U.S. Women (8-2) will play Serbia (10-0) in the semifinals at 11:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday (Oct. 12). Italy (9-1) will play Brazil (9-1) in the other semifinal at 11 a.m. PT on Thursday (Oct. 13). The medal matches will be in Apeldoorn, Netherlands on Saturday, Oct. 15.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

On Tuesday, the U.S. Women’s serving and blocking kept Türkiye off balance. The United States led the match in attacks (44-35), blocks (13-9) and aces (4-0). It scored 14 points on Türkiye errors and gave up 13.

“Our team had so much to be proud of today,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “They were really engaged. They played with great effort. The execution was there, too. They executed a really strong gameplan. That was a great win against a very good team. They are very well coached by Giovanni Guidetti.

“We’ve got a quick turnaround. Looking forward to regrouping and doing as much as we can in terms of recovery and recharging. We will be watching the other quarterfinal and getting ready for what comes in a little more than 24 hours.”

U.S. outside hitter Ali Frantti led all scorers with 18 points on a match-high 15 kills (.423 hitting efficiency), a match-high two aces and one block.

Opposite Annie Drews added 14 points on 11 kills and three blocks. Setter Jordyn Poulter also had three blocks and one ace.

Outside hitter Kelsey (Robinson) Cook finished with 10 points on nine kills and one block.

“I feel like we just have everybody working toward a common goal,” Cook said. “Everybody showed up today with eyes locked in on the gameplan.”

Middle blocker Haleigh Washington scored six points, including one block and one ace. Middle Chiaka Ogbogu added five points on four kills and one block.

Middle Hannah Tapp, who took over for Ogbogu in the third set, scored two points with two blocks. Opposite Danielle Cuttino played as part of the double substitute with setter Lauren Carlini and scored two points on a kill and a block. Outside hitter Kara Bajema also played as a substitute.

Liberos Justine Wong-Orantes and Morgan Hentz split time on the court and Wong-Orantes was credited with six digs.

Matches are being livestreamed on VolleyballWorld.tv.

The U.S. Women won the World Championships for the first time in 2014. They took silver in 1967 and 2002. They took third in 1982 and 1990. They tied for fifth at the last World Championships in 2018.

U.S. Women’s Roster for 2022 FIVB World Championships
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois, Great Lakes)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
5 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
8 Hannah Tapp (MB, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
15 Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ., Rocky Mountain)
18 Kara Bajema (OH, 6-2, Lynden, Wash., Univ. of Washington, Puget Sound)
20 Danielle Cuttino (Opp, 6-4, Indianapolis, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
23 Kelsey (Robinson) Cook (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
30 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
31 Anna (Stevenson) Hall (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Marv Dunphy
Performance Analyst: Brian Hurler
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Massage Specialist: Tony Poland
Team Doctors: Warren Young and Steven Stovitz

U.S. Schedule for the World Championships
All times PT

Pool Play Round One
Arnhem, Netherlands
USA def Kazakhstan, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-22)
USA def Canada, 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-15)

Łódź, Poland
USA def Bulgaria, 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-11, 25-15)
USA def Germany, 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 26-24)
Serbia def USA, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-13)

Pool Play Round Two
Łódź, Poland
USA def Dominican Republic, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-14)
Poland def USA, 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18)
USA def Türkiye, 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22)
USA def Thailand 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 27-25, 15-13)

Quarterfinals
USA def Türkiye, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20)

Semifinals
Oct. 12 at 11:30 a.m. Serbia vs USA
Oct. 13 at 11 a.m. Italy vs Brazil

Finals
Oct. 15
Bronze medal at 7 a.m.
Gold medal at 11 a.m.