U.S. Women Head to Paris QFs after Win over France
The U.S. Women's National Team clinched a berth in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics with a tight 3-0 (29-27, 29-27, 25-20) victory over France before a boisterous French crowd on Sunday.
PARIS, France (August 6, 2024) – Playing its best match yet in the Paris Olympics, the U.S. Women’s National Team advanced to the semifinals with an impressive 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) sweep of Poland on Tuesday.
The win sends the U.S. to its fifth consecutive Olympic semifinal berth. Poland (2-2) finishes without reaching its first Olympic semi.
The U.S. will face world No. 1 Brazil, in Thursday’s semifinals. Brazil swept the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals. The semis will be a replay of the gold medal match in Tokyo.
The U.S. dominated in kills (44-30) and led in aces (6-3), while staying nearly even (12-10) in blocks with one of the world’s top blocking teams.
U.S. Women’s Head Coach Karch Kiraly said the team’s new starting lineup, which was introduced against Serbia during pool play and has Kathryn Plummer and Avery Skinner at the outsides, came together with some key substitutions for the victory.
“Most other teams have been playing for years with the same starting lineup,” he said. “We now have three matches… We’re excited because we feel like we’re just getting going with this slugger lineup.”
The team was also excited about the return of backup setter Lauren Carlini, who had missed the last two matches with an injury. Setter Micha Hancock returned to official alternate status.
The U.S. finished with a significant advantage in digs (67-55) and scored four more points on opponent errors (15-11).
Opposite Annie Drews led all players with 13 points on 12 kills and a block.
Drews credited the U.S. Women’s play in its pool for helping them on Tuesday.
“Pool A was such a dogfight and it really showed us anything can happen,” she said. “As we’ve gone on in this tournament, we’ve gotten better and better at not getting rattled.”
Skinner nearly registered a triple-double with 12 kills, 10 digs, and eight successful receptions. Plummer scored 12 points on eight kills, two blocks, and two key aces late in the third set. Plummer led the team with 10 successful receptions and contributed five digs, and Drews added seven digs.
Libero Justine Wong-Orantes finished with a match-high 14 digs and added four successful receptions. Setter Jordyn Poulter, who led the team to a .262 hitting efficiency percentage, scored four points on two blocks and two aces, and recorded nine digs.
Middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Haleigh Washington combined for 13 points. Ogbogu hit .571 with four kills in seven attacks, while Washington added three kills in six attacks. Both players finished with two blocks and an ace. Veteran Jordan Larson scored four points on three kills and a block.
The U.S. jumped out to a 5-1 lead with Plummer scoring twice on a kill and a block, and Washington recording a block. A Poulter ace stretched the lead to six, 12-6, and the lead eventually grew to seven points, 15-8, before Poland ran off four consecutive points.
A Drews kill made it 19-14, but back-to-back Poland points, the second on a kill off an overpass, cut the deficit to three points. Skinner scored the team’s next two points, the second off a one-handed set from Poulter, to make it 21-17. Cook ended a long rally highlighted by great block coverage by Wong-Orantes for a 22-18 lead.
Consecutive blocks brought Poland within two points for the first time since the score was 3-1, but Drews scored off a high set. The teams traded points for the final points of the set with Plummer’s fourth kill giving the U.S. set point and Skinner’s fifth kill ending the set. Plummer joined Skinner in leading the team with five points. Ogbogu, who entered the match tied for the blocking lead in the Olympics, scored three points on a pair of kills and a block.
A Poulter ace gave the U.S. a quick 4-0 lead in the second set. A Drews kill high off the block raised the advantage to six points, 11-5. A Poland block cut the lead to four points, but it was as close as the set would get. A great pass by Wong-Orantes led to a Washington kill and after a Poland hitting error, a strong dig by Plummer and set by Poulter led to another Skinner kill and a 14-7 lead. Washington served an ace for an eight-point lead coming after a Poland timeout.
Strong digs by Wong-Orantes led to a Skinner kill and Drews tip ran the lead to eight points, 18-9. Skinner scored three more times as the U.S. ran away with the set, once off a Plummer set out of system and the final two points of the set. Skinner finished with seven kills and Drews also scored seven points with six kills and a block. Washington scored three points with two kills and an ace.
Through two sets, the U.S. was hitting .293 compared to .136 for Poland and held a huge advantage in digs (35-20). The U.S. scored on 33 of 75 attacks, while Poland was limited to 19 kills in 66 attacks.
For the first time in the match, Poland got off to strong start in the third set, using its powerful block to take a 7-1 lead. The U.S. used its second timeout after consecutive Poland points made it 10-4. A Thompson kill off a back set from Lauren Carlini and a one-on-one block by Larson closed the gap to three points, 11-8, and forced a Poland timeout. Carlini was making her first appearance since the opening match after sitting out the last two matches with back troubles.
Trailing 13-10, the U.S. tied the set with back-to-back kills by Drews and Ogbogu’s 17th block of the Olympics. A Plummer block gave the U.S. its first lead of the set, 15-14. After a Poland service error, Poulter recorded a block and a Poland net violation extended the U.S. lead to 18-15 and finishing a 17-8 run.
Poland scored the next three points to even the set at 18, but a service error put the U.S. ahead for good. Plummer served five consecutive points with consecutive aces taking the lead to three points and a back row attack completing the 5-0 run. Larson delivered a kill to give the U.S. match point and with the score 24-20, Ogbogu ended the match on a kill. Plummer finished the set with five kills, adding two kills and a block to her aces. Drews registered four kills and Larson scored four points on three kills and a block.
U.S. Women’s Roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois, Rocky Mountain)
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)
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)
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)
22 Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford Univ., 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)
Alternates
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
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)
29 Khalia Lanier (OH/Opp, 6-2, Scottsdale, Ariz., Univ. of Southern California, Arizona)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Tama Miyashiro, Erin Virtue, Alfee Reft
Consultant Coach: Marv Dunphy
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Team Leader: Coley Pawlikowski
Mental Performance Coach: Katy Stanfill
Culture Consultant: Sue Enquist
Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Massage Therapist: Ricardo Brambila
Team Doctor: Dr. Lori Boyajian-O’Neill
U.S. Women’s Schedule for Paris 2024
(All times PT)
July 29 China def. USA, 3-2 (25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 20-25, 15-13)
July 31 USA def. Serbia, 3-2 (25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25. 17-15)
Aug. 4 USA def. France, 3-0 (29-27, 29-27, 25-20)
Aug. 6 Quarterfinals: USA def. Poland, 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20)
Aug. 8 Semifinals: USA vs. Brazil, TBA
Aug. 10: Bronze medal
Aug. 12 Gold medal
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Justine Wong-Orantes
Libero, 5-6
Micha Hancock
Setter, 5-11
Annie Drews
Opposite, 6-4
Avery Skinner
Outside Hitter, 6-1
Kathryn Plummer
Opposite/Outside Hitter, 6-6
Haleigh Washington
Middle, 6-3
Jordan Larson
Outside Hitter, 6-2
Jordyn Poulter
Setter, 6-2
Jordan Thompson
Opposite, 6-4
Lauren Carlini
Setter, 6-1