U.S. Women Take Olympic Silver in Paris

PARIS, France (August 11, 2024) – After another incredible Olympic run, the U.S. Women took home the silver medal after falling to Italy in the gold medal match, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-17) on the final day of the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

The Tokyo gold medalists now lead the former Soviet Union for all-time medals 7-6 and have medaled at each of the past five Olympics. The gold medal was the first Olympic hardware for Italy, who captured the Volleyball Nations League title earlier this summer and dropped only one set in the tournament, winning its final 17 sets.

Chiaka Ogbogu was named Best Middle Blocker on the Paris 2024 Dream Team. 

“We have so much that we’re proud of from this tournament,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “But out of the three medalist teams, (silver) is the only one that finishes with a loss. There’s a bittersweet part to that.”

Ranked fifth in the world entering this year’s Olympics, the U.S. Women (4-2) ran off four consecutive victories to again reach the championship match after an opening 3-2 loss to China in pool play. They defeated the reigning world champions Serbia in pool play, fourth-ranked Poland in the quarterfinals, and world No. 1 Brazil in the semifinals. The silver medal is the fourth for the U.S., which finishes the Olympics ranked No. 3.

“For those of us who were in Tokyo, I think this was more what we envisioned a typical Olympic experience to be,” U.S. setter Jordyn Poulter said. “I think the city of Paris did a phenomenal job putting this on.

“We were able to come out playing our best volleyball throughout this tournament, which is where I hoped we would eventually get to at the end of this quad.”

Backup opposite Jordan Thompson led the U.S. in scoring with eight kills and outside hitter Avery Skinner added seven. Opposite Annie Drews scored six points on five kills and an ace, and outside Jordan Larson played as a substitute and finished with five kills and six digs. Thompson also totaled six digs, while setter Jordyn Poulter and Drews each added five.

Libero Justine Wong-Orantes led all players with 15 digs. Skinner recorded a match-high 15 successful receptions and Wong-Orantes finished with six.

Italy led in kills (45-35), blocks (11-0), aces (7-3) and made five fewer errors (17-12). Paola Egonu of Italy completed her torrid Olympic play with 22 points on 18 kills and four blocks.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

An Italy block sent the U.S. to a quick 5-1 deficit and an early timeout in the opening set. Another block stretched the lead to six points, 12-6 and led to a second time out. The lead grew to eight, 15-7, on an ace.

The U.S. used an Ogbogu ace and a Washington kill on a slide to key a 4-0 U.S. run, but another Italy block ended the run. A fourth Italy block prevented the U.S. from pulling within three points on a swing at 16-12.

A Thompson kill and an Italy hitting error after the U.S. front row send two attacks back cut the deficit to three, 19-16, but Italy scored the next two points after a timeout to regain a five-point advantage. Italy finished the set on a 6-2 run. Italy hit .324 in the opening set, while the U.S. hit .071. Skinner (three kills), and Drews and Ogbogu (two kills, one ace) each scored three points.

A Larson kill gave the U.S. a 3-1 lead in the second set before Italy went on a 6-2 run to go up by two points. Larson evened the set 8-8 on a kill, but Italy scored four of the next five points to take the first three-point lead of the set and force a U.S. timeout. An ace gave Italy its biggest lead of the set, 21-16, and the U.S. could not get closer than four points. Larson led the team with four kills with Skinner and Thompson each contributing three kills. Through two sets, Italy was hitting .400 and passing at 68 percent good or perfect, while the U.S. was hitting .183.

A hitting error gave the U.S. a 6-5, the latest it led in any set, but Italy ran off seven points in a row to take a 12-6 lead. A ninth Italy block extended the lead to six, 15-9. A Thompson kill cut the lead back to four, 15-11, but the U.S. could not get any closer. Thompson registered three kills in the set.

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 Quarterfinal: USA def. Poland, 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20)
Aug. 8 Semifinal: USA def. Brazil, 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11)
Aug. 11 Gold medal, Italy def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-17)