Cook, Drews Return for Women's VNL Week 3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 10, 2024) – Outside hitter Kelsey Robinson Cook and opposite Annie Drews, both 2020 Olympic gold medalists, will make their 2024 debuts with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the third and final preliminary round of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in Fukuoka, Japan.

Besides Robinson, the other outside hitters on the roster are Jordan Larson, Kathryn Plummer and Avery Skinner.

Drews and Jordan Thompson will be the opposites.

The setters will be Lauren Carlini, Micha Hancock and Jordyn Poulter. The liberos are Morgan Hentz and Justine Wong-Orantes.

Chiaka Ogbogu, Dana Rettke and Anna Stevenson Hall are the middle blockers on the roster. Middle blocker Haleigh Washington is listed as a reserve player. She can be added to the roster for another player during the week.

The U.S. Women are 4-4 after the first two VNL preliminary rounds and in eighth place in the standings. The top seven finishers plus Thailand (if it doesn’t move into the top eight) will advance to the final round in Thailand.

The U.S. Women are the reigning Olympic champions and were ranked No. 2 in the world going into VNL. They have won the VNL three times (2018, ’19, ’21) since its inception in 2018. In 2023, they finished fourth overall.

Head Coach Karch Kiraly is a three-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist as a player who took over as head coach in 2013. He has led the U.S. Women to a World Championship in 2014 and an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Kiraly’s first assistant is Tama Miyashiro, who won a silver medal as a libero with the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. The second assistants are Alfee Reft and Erin Virtue.

U.S. Women’s Roster for VNL Preliminary Round 3
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
2C 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)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
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)
14 Anna Stevenson Hall (MB, 6-2, Laurens, S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)
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)

Reserve Player
15 Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ., Rocky Mountain)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Tama Miyashiro, Erin Virtue,  Alfee Reft
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Team Leader: Coley Pawlikowski
Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Team Doctor: James Suchy

U.S. Women’s Schedule for the 2024 Volleyball Nations League
Matches will be shown live and on-demand on VolleyballWorld.tv
(All times PDT)

Week 1 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
May 15 USA def Thailand 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-12, 25-18)
May 16 China def USA 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19)
May 17 Brazil def USA 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 18-25, 25-19)
May 19 USA def Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18)

Week 2 in Arlington, Texas
May 28 USA def Canada 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20)
May 31 USA def Bulgaria 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-22)
June 1 Poland def. USA 3-1 (28-26, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23)
June 2 Türkiye def. USA 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 12-25, 15-12)

Week 3 in Fukuoka, Japan
June 10 at 11:30 p.m. USA vs France
June 12 at 8 p.m. USA vs Netherlands
June 14 at 11:30 p.m. USA vs Italy
June 16 at 2:45 a.m. USA vs Japan

Final Round: June 20-23 in Bangkok, Thailand.