U.S. Women Topple Mexico at 2026 NORCECA Continental Champs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 22, 2026) – The U.S. Women’s National Team earned its second win in as many days at the 2026 NORCECA Continental Championship with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) victory over Mexico on Saturday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The U.S. (2-0) will meet Canada (2-0) tomorrow at 3 p.m. PT to round out pool play. Neither team has dropped a set in its first two matches. The winner of the match will automatically advance to Tuesday’s semifinals with the other team playing in the quarterfinal round on Monday. The U.S. has not beaten Canada this season, losing 3-0 during VNL play and more recently dropping two four-set matches at the USAV Cup.

The U.S. put together another great offensive effort with 44 kills and only five errors in 84 total attacks for a .464 hitting efficiency percentage. Mexico served one more ace (5-4) while the U.S. held a 9-2 advantage in blocks with six of them coming from middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu.

Outside hitter Avery Skinner shared match-high honors with 11 kills, adding two blocks and an ace to lead all players with 14 total points. Fellow outside Logan Eggleston also reached double digits with 10 kills and an ace for 11 points. Ogbogu added two kills and an ace to her blocks for nine points. Opposite Stephanie Samedy finished with nine kills.

Setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres recorded a block and kill in addition to running the effective U.S. offense with Jordyn Poulter. Middle Asjia O’Neal totaled seven points on six kills and an ace, while opposite Jordan Thompson produced five kills. Libero Morgan Hentz recorded a match-high 10 digs with Eggleston recording eight and Poulter contributing seven. Libero Lexi Rodriguez led the team with three excellent receptions.

An Ogbogu one-on-one block gave the U.S. its first lead of the match, 5-4. Two Skinner points, the first on a cross-court kill off a Hentz set and the second on a block, helped the U.S. take a 9-6 advantage. After a Mexico timeout, Eggleston scored on a back row attack to raise the lead to four points. Another Ogbogu block made the score 13-9 and after a Mexico hitting error, an Eggleston kill off an overpass pushed the lead to six points, 15-9. Ogbogu served an ace for a 17-10 lead. A Samedy kill raised the advantage to eight points, 20-12. Eggleston scored on a pipe attack for a 22-13 lead before Mexico scored five of the next six points to cut the deficit to five. After a U.S. timeout, Samedy found the back corner to end a back-and-forth rally and after Mexico saved one set point, Skinner scored to end the set. Eggleston and Samedy each registered four kills.

An Ogbogu block put the U.S. ahead 8-5 in the second set. Mexico closed the gap to one point, 11-10, before a Skinner kill and another Ogbogu block stretched the lead back to three points. Consecutive kills by Eggleston and Skinner raised the margin to five, 16-11. Ogbogu recorded her fifth block for a 19-13 lead. Mexico pulled back within three points, 22-19, on two successful block touch challenges and a kill off the block. Back-to-back Skinner kills put the U.S. up 24-19 and two points later, Samedy delivered a kill off the block for a two-set U.S. lead. Skinner scored six points on five kills and an ace, while Ogbogu totaled four points on three blocks and a kill.

Mexico raced out to a 5-2 lead in the third set, but the U.S. scored the next four points with a Samedy kill tying the score and an O’Neal score on a slide putting the U.S. in front. A Skinner block raised the lead to three, 9-6. Another Ogbogu block made it 10-7. A good up by Skinner and set by Ka’aha’aina-Torres led to an Eggleston kill for a 15-11 lead and Eggleston followed with an ace. After a Mexico timeout, Skinner scored on a play set up by a great dig from Hentz that put the U.S. ahead 17-11. A Ka’aha’aina-Torres setter dump and an ace from O’Neal pushed the lead to 19-12. The lead grew to nine on a Ka’aha’aina-Torres block and kills from Skinner and Samedy. Skinner scored against a double block for a 23-14 lead. Mexico scored three points in a row before Ogbogu put a ball down to set up match point and on the ensuing play, she set Eggeston for the winning kill. Skinner and Eggleston each scored five points in the set.

U.S. Women’s Roster for Continental Championship
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)
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)
25 Kara Hallock (OH, 6-2, Lyndon, Wash., Univ. of Washington, Puget Sound)
27 Madi Kubik-Banks (OH, 6-4, West Des Moines, Iowa, Univ. of Nebraska, Iowa)
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 Doctor: Steven Stovitz
Team Manager: Shannon Slatter

2026 NORCECA Continental Championship Schedule
All times PT

August 21: USA def. Trinidad and Tobago, 3-0 (25-6, 25-11, 25-4)
August 22: USA def. Mexico, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17)
August 23: USA vs. Canada, 3 p.m.
August 24: Quarterfinals
August 25: Classification and semifinals
August 26: Classification and Finals