U.S. Women End World Championship Run with Loss to Türkiye

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 1, 2025) – The U.S. Women’s National Team fell to Türkiye in four sets (25-14, 22-25, 25-14, 25-23) Thursday in the quarterfinals at the 2025 FIVB World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. The U.S. finished the tournament with a 4-1 record.

The match was a blocking bonanza, as the teams combined for 30 blocks, with Türkiye having the 19-11 edge. Türkiye also led in kills (58-41), but the U.S. had six aces to Türkiye’s three. Türkiye scored 17 points off U.S. errors while giving up 18.

“Obviously [it’s] disappointing in the moment,” head coach Erik Sullivan said. “I don’t think we played our best this evening. Türkiye played really well. They did some things early on that put some pressure on us that was different from what we had seen, but I loved the fact that we were resilient and competed through the whole match. We gave ourselves a shot there at the end. We just couldn’t convert on a couple of plays. I love the foundation that we’re building for the four years. It was a great summer for us in a bunch of aspects, but we’ve got to find ways to perform in these bigger moments.”

Match Statistics (PDF)

Sarah Franklin led the U.S. with 12 points on 10 kills, one block and one ace. Three players had 11 points: Avery Skinner collected 11 kills; Dana Rettke scored six kills, two blocks and three aces; and Stephanie Samedy notched 10 kills and an ace.

Chiaka Ogbogu had eight points with three kills and a team-high five blocks. Madisen Skinner had two blocks, and setter Jordyn Poulter had a block and an ace. Ali Frantti had one kill.

Türkiye had eight blocks, including five from Eda Erdem, to dominate the first set. After Türkiye jumped to an early 6-2 lead, the U.S. took a timeout and cut the lead to 8-6. Two straight kills from Türkiye’s Melissa Vargas increased the lead back to four at 10-6. After an Ogbogu block made it 11-7, the U.S. did not get any closer. Rettke led the U.S. with two kills and two blocks in the set.

The U.S. handed Türkiye its first set loss in the tournament in the second. Türkiye started out strong again with an early 6-3 lead, but two blocks and a kill from Ogbogu, followed by a Poulter ace, gave the U.S. at 7-6 lead. The two teams traded points until Türkiye began to inch away mid-set, 18-15. After a U.S. timeout, a Samedy kill and Rettke-Samedy block cut the lead to two at 19-17.

Samedy, who came in for Madisen Skinner at opposite late in the first set, went to the service line and the U.S. took over, scoring six straight points for 23-19. A Türkiye block and Franklin error cut the U.S. lead to 23-21. But Franklin came back with two kills for the 25-22 win. Rettke had six points (four kills, two blocks), and Samedy had four kills and an ace.

“We know that we have depth and we can make some changes,” Sullivan said about Samedy and later bringing in Frantti. “We’ve got a bunch of players on this roster who can help us in different situations,” Sullivan said. “[It’s a] real big positive that we can make those substitutions and get a lot of production out of people.”

It was all Türkiye again in the third set, leading early 8-3. Kills by Samedy and Avery Skinner, along with a Türkiye error, cut the lead to 8-6. Türkiye continued to pull ahead as its blocking game returned to form. Frantti made her first Worlds appearance and immediately notched a kill to make it 15-9, but that was as close as the U.S. would get. Avery Skinner had three points for the U.S.

The U.S. battled throughout the fourth set after falling behind 5-2 and 10-7. A Franklin kill, Ogbogu block and two Türkiye errors evened the set at 11. Türkiye built a three-point lead again at 18-15, but Samedy and Avery Skinner had kills for 18-18. Türkiye pulled ahead by two, but the U.S. pulled within one at 20-19, 22-21 and 23-22. Türkiye then had two set points, giving one back on a service error but ending the match on a kill.

“We’ve learned a lot,” Sullivan said. “It’s probably going to take me a while to digest. I like the pieces that we have; I love how we competed all summer. We came up in some big moments, and in moments that were hard, I thought we were at our best at times. I think that’s a great thing to have in our back pocket. Obviously, we’re not going to get back in the gym right away, but I want to get back with this group and keep building, and see what pieces we can add and where we can be.”

U.S. Women’s VNL Finals Roster

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Illinois, Rocky Mountain)
3 Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Kentucky, Lone Star)
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 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska Great Lakes)
9 Madisen Skinner (OPP, 6-2, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
13 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., Univ. of Hawaii, Delta)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
22 Sarah Franklin (OH, 6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Univ. of Wisconsin, Florida)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
25 Tia Jimerson (MB, 6-3, Sugar Hill, Ga., Univ. of Ohio, Southern)
32 Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Texas, Aloha)
33 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
34 Stephanie Samedy (OPP, 6-2, Clermont, Fla., Minnesota, Florida)

Coaches
Head Coach: Erik Sullivan
Assistant Coach: Mike Wall
Second Assistant Coach: Brandon Taliaferro
Second Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Second Assistant Coach: Joe Trinsey
Team Manager: Rob Browning
Team Doctors: William Briner, James Suchy, Chris Lee, Andrew Gregory
Physiotherapist: Kara Kessans
Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Physical Trainer: Shannon Boone
Mental Performance Coach: Katy Stanfill
Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham
Technical Coordinator: Blake Omaritan
Team Leader: Shannon Slatter

U.S. Schedule

Pool Play-All times Pacific
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Aug. 22: USA def. Slovenia, 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-22, 25-14)
Aug. 24: USA def. Argentina, 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-12, 25-17)
Aug. 26: USA def. Czechia, 3-0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-15)

Playoffs
Bangkok, Thailand
Round of 16: USA def. Canada, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)
Quarterfinals: Sept. 4, Türkiye def. USA, 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-14, 25-23)