U.S. Women to Play Italy in 2024 cVNL Quarterfinal

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 19, 2024) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will open the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Final Round in the quarterfinals against Italy at 3 a.m. PT on June 21 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The U.S. Women finished the preliminary round at 7-5 and played a strong final match against Japan, getting a 3-0 win to finish seventh and advance.

In the match before Japan, the U.S. Women battled a tough Italian team before losing 3-1. Italy finished the preliminary round in second place at 10-2.

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The winner of Friday’s quarterfinal match will advance to Saturday’s semifinals. The medal matches will be played on Sunday.

Micha Hancock and Lauren Carlini will be the setters for the final round. Morgan Hentz and Justine Wong-Orantes will be the liberos.

The outside hitters will be Khalia Lanier, Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson Cook and Avery Skinner. The opposites will be Annie Drews and Jordan Thompson.

The middle blockers will be Chiaka Ogbogu, Dana Rettke, Anna Stevenson Hall and Haleigh Washington.

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

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. He has led the U.S. Women to a World Championship in 2014 and an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

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 are Alfee Reft and Erin Virtue.

U.S. Women’s Roster for VNL Preliminary Round 3
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
3 Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky, Lone Star)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
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)
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)
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)
23C 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)
29 Khalia Lanier (OH, 6-2, Scottsdale, Ariz., Univ. of Southern California, Arizona)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Tama Miyashiro, Erin Virtue,  Alfee Reft
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Team Leader: Coley Pawlikowski
Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Team Doctor: James Suchy

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 USA def Thailand 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-12, 25-18)
May 16 China def USA 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19)
May 17 Brazil def USA 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19)
May 19 USA def Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18)

Week 2 in Arlington, Texas
May 28 USA def Canada 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20)
May 31 USA def Bulgaria 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22)
June 1 Poland def. USA 3-1 (28-26, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23)
June 2 Türkiye def. USA 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 12-25, 15-12)

Week 3 in Fukuoka, Japan
June 10 USA def France 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-20)
June 12 USA def Netherlands 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22)
June 14 Italy def USA 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-15, 25-21)
June 16 USA def Japan 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 26-24)

Final Round in Bangkok, Thailand
June 21 at 3 a.m. QF: USA vs Italy