U.S. Women Rally Past Türkiye in 2026 Women's VNL Week Three

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (July 10, 2026) – Playing its third match in as many days, the U.S. Women’s National Team rallied to defeat Türkiye, 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 15-8) on Friday in Osaka, Japan. The U.S. entered the match ranked fourth in the world with Türkiye ranked third.

The U.S. moved to 7-4 against Türkiye in VNL play. Türkiye won the last VNL matchup in 2024 and also defeated the U.S. in the 2025 FIVB World Championship quarterfinal round.

The U.S. (9-2) will conclude VNL pool play against Brazil (7-2) Saturday at 8 p.m. PT in a match that will likely determine the top seed for the VNL finals.

The key statistics for the U.S. were a 14-6 advantage in blocks and making 15 fewer errors (33-18). The U.S. trailed 8-7 in service aces but finished with a 6-2 advantage after the opening set. Türkiye recorded a 74-60 lead in kills.

“The way that things have lined up for us this summer gave us some time to prepare for these bigger matches in week three, It was a great test for us. We are going in the right direction. I think this is a step along that path. I am really happy with how we played and most importantly how we competed the whole match,” said U.S. head coach Erik Sulluvan. “There are some system things that aren’t quite as tight as we want, meaning we are not all on the same page. We are 80 or 90 percent there. If we want to get to LA28 to compete for a medal, we need to clean that part up.”

Five U.S. players scored nine or more points, led by outside hitters Avery Skinner (17 kills and two aces) and Logan Eggleston (14 kills, three blocks and two aces) with 19 points apiece. Eggleston added eight digs and five successful receptions.

Opposite Jordan Thompson scored 17 points on 16 kills, including three in the deciding set, and a block. Middle blocker Dana Rettke also played a key role in the fifth set and finished the match with 11 points on seven kills, three aces and a block. Middle Asjia O’Neal came off the bench to score nine points on a match-high four blocks to go with four kills and an ace.

“This is a testament to the hard work we have been putting in. We’ve been trying to find our team chemistry and our team identity. We are a younger team and what we may lack in experience we make up for in natural talent. It’s a really beautiful thing to see because as we continue to grow and gain more experience, we’re only going to get stronger,” Thompson remarked. “I’m so incredibly proud of the way this team fought and really proud of Asjia for coming in and everybody stepping up and making some really big plays.”

Libero Morgan Hentz made numerous great defensive plays and finished with a team-high 15 digs. In addition to leading the U.S. offense, setter Jordyn Poulter contributed 10 digs, two blocks and an ace. Libero Lexi Rodriguez led the team with six successful receptions.

The U.S. used four blocks by four different players to take a 10-8 lead in set one. A Thompson kill on a back row attack made it 11-9, but Türkiye went on a 6-2 run, taking a two-point lead on back-to-back aces. A Samedy kill kept the U.S. within two points, 19-17, but the U.S. could get no closer. Another Türkiye ace made it 23-19. Facing set point at 24-21, Eggleston scored on a rally kept alive by a great Hentz dig. Türkiye took the set on the next point. Thompson led the U.S. with five kills.

Türkiye scored the first two points of the second set and held the lead until a great dig by Eggleston led to a Thompson kill to even the set at seven points apiece. Eggleston recorded back-to-back kills to give the U.S. a 12-10 lead and her ace that dribbled off the net made it 14-11. Two O’Neal blocks and a Skinner kill with Rettke serving raised the margin to five points, 18-13. Türkiye used short serves and a block to run off four points in a row and even the set 19-19. After using its second timeout, Skinner and Thompson put the U.S. back up by two. A perfect pass by Skinner led to a Thompson kill to make it 22-20 and O’Neal followed with an ace. Eggleston gave the U.S. set point at 24-21, and Rettke ended the set after Türkiye saved two set points. Eggleston scored six points on five kills and an ace.

Türkiye scored the first three points to begin the third set. Blocks by Thompson and Eggleston cut the deficit to two points on two occasions but a Türkiye block raised the margin to four, 9-5. A Rettke kill brought the U.S. within a point at 12-11, and Eggleston tied the set at 13-13 on a set from Hentz. The teams split the next six points before Türkiye scored three points in a row for a 19-16 advantage. A successful challenge by the U.S. on a Rettke point narrowed the gap to one point, 20-19. A strong Thompson serve put Türkiye out of system, leading to a Poulter block that tied the set 23-23. A great up by Thompson helped give the U.S. set point. The score went back and forth until it was tied at 27. A lengthy review on a U.S. challenge eventually resulted in a Türkiye point and 28-27 lead after the challenge was initially deemed successful. Türkiye took the next set on an overpass off another short serve to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Skinner paced the U.S. with five kills.

With the score 6-6 in the fourth set, a Thompson kill, Skinner ace and Eggleston block gave the U.S. a three-point lead and prompted a Türkiye timeout. Poulter served back-to-back aces to push the lead to four points, 16-12. Türkiye scored the next three points, the third on an ace, to cut the deficit back to one. A Rettke block put the U.S. up 20-17 and an Eggleston ace made it 22-18. Rettke gave the U.S. a 23-20 lead and Skinner scored on the following play. After Türkiye saved one set point, Skinner scored her sixth point to send the match to a fifth set.

Thompson scored twice and Rettke registered a block early in the fifth set, but Türkiye led 4-3 when Rettke’s kill on a slide ignited a 12-4 U.S. run the rest of the way. A great dig by Poulter led to a Skinner kill and a 6-4 lead. A Rettke ace and an Eggleston point on a pipe attack put the U.S. up 10-5. O’Neal scored the team’s next two points on a block and a kill that doubled up the score, 12-6. A great set by Poulter on a pass close to the net fed Skinner to set up match point at 14-7. Two points later, Thompson finished the comeback victory.

U.S. Women’s Week Three Roster for 2026 VNL

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: Pasig City, 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 USA def. Serbia, 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-16, 25-19)

Week 3: Osaka, Japan
July 7 USA def. Thailand, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-20)
July 8 Poland def. USA, 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12)
July 9 USA def. Türkiye, 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 27-29, 25-21, 15-8)
July 11 at 8 p.m. vs. Brazil