U.S. Women are 9-0 with Six to Go at VNL

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 8, 2021) – The U.S. Women’s National Team hit a minor speedbump, but otherwise kept on rolling on Tuesday and beat Italy, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16) at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy.

The U.S. Women (9-0) are the only team that is still undefeated in Rimini. The set they dropped to Italy is the second one they have dropped in the tournament. In the next round on June 12-14, they will face eighth-place Belgium (5-4), fifth-place Japan (7-2) and second-place Turkey (8-1).

The U.S. Women led Italy in kills (57-47), blocks (9-8) and aces (7-6).

OFFICIAL STATISTICS * TEAM STATISTICS

“I thought Italy put up a great fight. They have some really talented young players,” outside hitter Kelsey Robinson said. “We spent the match trying to navigate that and figure out how to stop them.

“I thought we were really patient with our swings. Once we got our middles going in-system, I thought we did a really good job.”

Opposite Annie Drews led all scorers with 20 points on a match-high 18 kills (.500) and two aces. Outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley added 19 points on 16 kills (.424), two blocks and one ace.

Robinson finished with 11 points on nine kills, one block and one ace. Middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson scored 11 points on a match-high four blocks and seven kills.

Middle Haleigh Washington totaled nine points on six kills, one block and two aces. Setter Jordyn Poulter finished with three points on one kill, one block and one ace. She set the U.S. to a .336 hitting efficiency.

Libero Justine Wong Orantes was credited with 20 digs and eight successful receptions.

After winning the first two sets, the U.S. Women led the third 15-13 when Italy’s offense caught fire and carried the European side on a 9-1 scoring run to lead 22-16 and the U.S. Women ran out of serves to catch up.

The U.S. Women put the third set in the rear-view mirror and took a 10-5 lead to open the fourth set. Italy never challenged.

U.S. Women’s National Team 18-Person Roster for FIVB Volleyball Nations League

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College)

1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ.)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois)
4 Justine Wong Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
6 Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
8 Hannah Tapp (M, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
11 Annie Drews (OPP, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ.)
12 Jordan Thompson (OPP, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
14 Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Champaign, Ill., Univ. of Illinois)
15 Kim Hill (OH, 6-4, Portland, Ore., Pepperdine, Univ.)
16 Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson (M, 6-3, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Stanford Univ.)
22 Haleigh Washington (M, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ.)
23 Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Luka Slabe, Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro
Technical Coordinator: Jeff Liu
Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Manager: Jimmy Stitz

U.S. Women’s Schedule for FIVB Volleyball Nations League (all times Pacific)

May 25: USA def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-12)
May 26: USA def Canada, 3-0 (26-34, 25-15, 25-10)
May 27: USA def Brazil 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22)

May 31: USA def Serbia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-12)
June 1: USA def Netherlands, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18)
June 2: USA def Thailand, 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-16)

June 6: USA def Germany, 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-13)
June 7: USA def South Korea, 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-15)
June 8: USA def Italy, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16)

June 12 at 6 a.m.: USA vs Belgium
June 13 at 3 a.m.: USA vs Japan
June 14 at noon: USA vs Turkey

June 18 at 9 a.m.: Poland vs USA
June 19 at 3 a.m.: USA vs Russia
June 20 at 3 a.m.: China vs USA

June 23: Semifinals 1 and 2
June 24: Bronze and Gold medal matches