Thirty U.S. Women Selected for VNL Long-List Roster

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 19, 2024) – Thirty athletes, including nine Olympic gold medalists, are on the U.S. Women’s National Team long-list roster for the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

Volleyball Nations League is the world’s premier annual international indoor volleyball tournament. The top 16 teams in the world play four matches a week for three weeks of preliminary competition. The top eight teams at the end of the preliminaries will go to the Final Round.

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Coaches will select 14 athletes from the long list to compete at the United States’ VNL stops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (May 15-19), Arlington, Texas (May 28-June 2) and Fukuoka, Japan (June 11-16). The VNL Final Round is scheduled for June 20-23 in Bangkok, Thailand.

U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly has said that he will use the early VNL matches to help choose the players for his 2024 Paris Olympic Games roster. That team will have 12 players plus an alternate who will travel to Paris.

Nine players on the roster return from the team that won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: setters Micha Hancock and Jordyn Poulter, libero Justine Wong-Orantes, outside hitters Jordan Larson and Kelsey (Robinson) Cook, middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Haleigh Washington, and opposites Annie Drews and Jordan Thompson.

Besides those nine, players on the roster who have competed in previous VNLs include setters Lauren Carlini, Ashley Evans and Jenna Gray, liberos Morgan Hentz and Kendall White, outside hitters Ali Frantti, Khalia Lanier, Kathryn Plummer, Avery Skinner and Sarah Wilhite Parsons, middles Brionne Butler, Anna Hall, Asjia O’Neal and Dana Rettke and opposite Danielle Cuttino.

Those who have not played in prior VNL matches are libero Zoe Fleck, outside hitter Madisen Skinner, opposites Kendall Kipp and Taylor Mims, and middles Kayla Haneline and Serena Gray.

Head Coach Karch Kiraly is a three-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist as a player who took over as head coach in 2013.

Kiraly’s first assistant is Tama Miyashiro, who won a silver medal as a libero with the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. The second assistants will be Marv Dunphy, Alfee Reft and Erin Virtue.

The U.S. Women are the reigning Olympic champions and ranked No. 2 in the world. They have won the VNL three times (2018, ’19, ’21) since its inception in 2018. In 2023, they finished fourth overall.

U.S. Women’s Preliminary Roster for 2024 VNL
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)

1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois, Rocky Mountain)
3 Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Baylor, Lone Star)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
5 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
6 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 Brionne Butler (MB, 6-4, Kendleton, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
9 Madisen Skinner (OH, 6-2, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
10 Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Univ. of Nebraska, Great Plains)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
12 Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati, North Country)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
14 Anna Stevenson Hall (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)
15 Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ., Rocky Mountain)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
17 Zoe Fleck (L, 5-6, Granada Hills, Calif., UCLA and Univ. of Texas, Southern California)
18 Asjia O’Neal (MB, 6-3, Southlake, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kan., Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
20 Danielle Cuttino (Opp, 6-4, Indianapolis, Ind., Purdue, Hoosier)
22 Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
23 Kelsey Robinson Cook (OH, 6-2, Bartlett, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska, Great Lakes)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
26 Kendall White (L, 5-5, Zionsville, Ind., Penn State, Hoosier)
28 Ashley Evans (S, 6-1, Liberty Township, Ohio, Purdue, Ohio Valley)
29 Khalia Lanier (OH, 6-2, Scottsdale, Ariz., Univ. of Southern California, Arizona)
32 Kendall Kipp (Opp, 6-5, Newport Beach, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
37 Kayla Haneline (MB, 6-3, Plattsmouth, Neb., Northern Iowa, Great Plains)
39 Taylor Mims (Opp, 6-3, Billings, Mont., Washington State, Evergreen)
43 Serena Gray (MB, 6-2, Temple City, Calif., Pitt, Southern California)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Tama Miyashiro
Second Assistant Coaches: Marv Dunphy, Alfee Reft, Erin Virtue
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Doctor: Lori Boyajian-O’Neill, William Briner, James Suchy
Consultant Coaches: Sue Enquist, Katy Stanfill
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
General Managers: Peter Vint and John Crawley

U.S. Women’s Schedule for the 2024 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VolleyballWorld.tv
(All times PDT)

Week 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
May 15 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs Thailand
May 16 at 1:30 p.m. USA vs China
May 17 at 5 p.m. USA vs Brazil
May 19 at 10 a.m. USA vs Dominican Republic

Week 2 in Arlington, Texas
May 28 at 5:30 p.m. USA vs Canada
May 31 at 6 p.m. USA vs Bulgaria
June 1 at 2:30 p.m. USA vs Poland
June 2 at 1 p.m. USA vs Türkiye

Week 3 in Fukuoka, Japan
June 10 at 11:30 p.m. USA vs France
June 12 at 8 p.m. USA vs Netherlands
June 14 at 11:30 p.m. USA vs Italy
June 16 at 2:45 a.m. USA vs Japan

Final Round: June 20-23 in Bangkok, Thailand.