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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 20, 2026) – The U.S. Women’s National Team won its fifth consecutive Volleyball Nations League (VNL) match with an impressive 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-16) sweep of Italy in a rematch of the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match on Saturday in Pasig City, Philippines. Italy is the top-ranked team in the world and won 39 consecutive VNL matches before falling to Brazil in the first week. The victory was the fifth for the U.S. in nine all-time VNL meetings, breaking a four-match Italy winning streak.
The U.S. (6-1) ends the second week of VNL play at 9 p.m. PT against Serbia (2-5).
The U.S. finished with a 49-41 advantage in kills and 9-7 in blocks, including 7-2 over the final two sets. Italy served more aces (4-2), but the U.S. serve kept Italy off-balance throughout the match. The U.S. made almost half as many errors with Italy committing 17 errors to just nine for the U.S.
“I thought we did a good job from the service line. That set the tone and got them off the net and then we converted on some opportunities when we did that,” said U.S. head coach Erik Sullivan, who was asked about what the match meant for two of the team’s top scorers in the match, opposite Stephanie Samedy and Simone Lee-Wank. “It was awesome for us to get them experience and to come away with a win like that against a quality Italy team. It solidifies the depth we have on our team. Now they have some confidence and they know they can do it.”
Samedy led the team with 12 kills, hitting .600 for the match with no errors in 20 attacks. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres ran the offense that hit .398 against one of the best blocking teams in the world.
Outside hitter Madi Kubik-Banks scored 11 points on 10 kills and a block and led all players with 12 successful receptions. Middle blockers Asjia O’Neal (seven kills and two blocks) and Molly McCage (match-high four blocks with three kills and both the team’s aces) each scored nine points. Lee-Wank recorded eight kills with a .429 hitting percentage, and opposite Jordan Thompson added six points on five kills and a block.
Libero Morgan Hentz shared match-high honors with 10 digs. Banks added seven with libero Lexi Rodriguez and Lee-Wank each contributing five.
The U.S. took an early 7-3 lead in the match, forcing a rare early timeout by Italy. A McCage block put the U.S. up 11-8, but an ace off the net capped a 4-1 Italy run that evened the set at 12. The U.S. responded by scoring the next four points with Kubik-Banks serving three of them. Skinner went down the line for a 19-16 U.S. lead and her back row attack made it 22-19.
Back-to-back Italy blocks tied the set at 22. After a timeout, O’Neal put the U.S. back in front, but Italy took the lead by scoring the next two points, the second on another block that led to the second U.S. timeout. After an Italy hitting error on set point, a strong Ka’aha’aina-Torres serve led to a Samedy kill on a free ball. With the score tied at 25, Samedy scored back-to-back points to take the set. Skinner and O’Neal recorded four kills with McCage scoring four points on two blocks, a kill and an ace.
A Ka’aha’aina-Torres block gave the U.S. the first two-point lead of the second set, 7-5. Italy regained the lead at 11-10 and took its first two-point lead at 13-11. The U.S. used a 5-2 stretch to take a 16-15 lead. A Thompson kill extended the lead to 18-16 and Lee-Wank scored off a McCage set for a 19-17 lead that led to an Italy timeout. A Hentz dig led to a Kubik-Banks kill that extended the margin to four points, 22-18. After an Italy hitting error, a Lee-Wank serve handcuffed the Italy defender and led to a free ball and Samedy kill for set point. Italy scored the next two points before putting a serve in the net. Samedy led all players with six kills in the set for the U.S., who held Italy without a block while recording five.
The U.S. started the third set with a Samedy kill and a McCage ace, and two O’Neal kills helped put the U.S. ahead 6-1. A Lee-Wank kill pushed the lead to six points, 9-3. Lee-Wank covered a tip and followed with a kill for an 11-5 lead that prompted an Italy timeout. Hentz put up a set for a Lee-Wank kill over her shoulder to make it 12-6. Kubik-Banks found the back corner on an out-of-system attack for a 15-10 lead. An Italy block cut the margin to three points, 16-13, and led to a U.S. timeout. Another Italy timeout cut the margin to two, 17-15. Samedy scored off a Hentz set and McCage put down an overpass for a 22-16 lead. After an Italy hitting error, Lee-Wank scored the final two points to complete the sweep. Kubik-Banks led the team with four points on three kills and a block.
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State, 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, Lone Star)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford, Pioneer)
7 Asjia O’Neal (MB, 6-3, Southlake, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
8 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska Great Lakes)
10 Simone Lee-Wank (OH, 6-1, Menomonee Falls, Wisc., Penn State, Badger)
11 Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S, 6-0 Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Texas, Aloha)
12 Jordan Thompson (OPP, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati, North Country)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-4, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
27 Madi Kubik-Banks (OH, 6-4, West Des Moines, Iowa, Univ. of Nebraska, Iowa)
29 Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
33 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-1, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
34 Stephanie Samedy (OPP, 6-2, Clermont, Fla., Univ. of Minnesota, Florida)
Head Coach: Erik Sullivan
Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park
Assistant Coach: Brandon Taliaferro
Assistant Coach: Rob Browning
Statistician: Virginia Pham
Physiotherapist: Kara Kessans
Physical Trainers: Shannon Boone, Shawn Hueglin
Mental Performance Coach: Nicole Davis
Team Doctors: Lori Boyajian-O’Neill, James Suchy, Chris Koutures, Mark Hutchinson
Team Manager: Shannon Slatter
U.S. Women’s Schedule for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VBTV.
(All times PDT)
Week 1: Quebec City, Quebec
June 3 USA def. Ukraine, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-23)
June 4 Canada def. USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 30-28)
June 5 USA def. France, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 27-25, 23-25, 15-11)
June 7 USA def. Germany, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-12)
Week 2: Philippines
June 16 USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-12)
June 18 USA def. Czechia, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-16)
June 20 USA def. Italy, 3-0 (27-25, 25-20, 25-16)
June 20 at 9 p.m. vs. Serbia
Week 3: Osaka, Japan
July 7 at 11:30 p.m. vs. Thailand
July 8 at 9 p.m. vs. Poland
July 9 at 9 p.m. vs. Türkiye
July 11 at 8 p.m. vs. Brazil
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