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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 18, 2026) – The U.S. Women’s National Team moved to 5-1 at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-16) win over Czechia on Thursday in Pasig City, Philippines. It was the second meeting between the teams in the VNL after Czechia, making its debut in the tournament, defeated the U.S. in an epic reverse sweep (27-25 in the fifth set) in 2025.
The U.S. (5-1) will face Italy (4-1), the top-ranked team in the world and defending VNL champion, on Saturday at 1 a.m. PT. The two teams have accounted for six of the seven VNL titles with each winning three championships. Italy has captured three of the past four titles.
The U.S. finished with a 12-5 advantage in blocks and 40-27 in kills. Each team served eight aces with the U.S. putting pressure on the Czechia passers throughout the match. Czechia, trying to find a way around the U.S. block, committed 10 more errors (15-5).
“I thought we played one of our most complete matches that I’ve seen us play since I’ve been the coach. It started from the service line. I thought we got a very good passing team and very efficient offensive team struggle there,” said U.S. head coach Erik Sullivan. “This is a tournament that is long and we’ve got some depth. We’ll see what we do with our lineup. We are looking at bigger picture things, not just the next match. It is a great opportunity for us to compete against an awesome Italy team. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Setter Jordyn Poulter used great ball distribution to lead the U.S. offense to a .493 hitting percentage. She served three aces and added a kill for four points. “All of us were chomping at the bit, ready to play this summer, adding Micah (Hancock) and JT (Jordan Thompson) back into the mix, some of my closest friends and people I have competed with for a while. It’s been really cool to see the collective team effort that we’ve had. Our passing was really solid and our serving was maybe the best serving we have had this quad. It made them uncomfortable and made our jobs a little easier,” stated Poulter, who served well throughout the match. “Coach was just giving me a seam to hit and I did my best to get some pop on the ball. The couple practices we have had here have been a little up and down with our serving, so it was so nice seeing everyone go to the back of the line putting in really tough serves.”
Opposite Jordan Thompson led the team in scoring for the second consecutive match with 15 points on 14 kills and a block. She hit an astounding .824 for the match with no errors in 17 attacks. Middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu dominated the net with six blocks and was part of multiple other double blocks. She finished with 11 points on four kills and an ace.
Outside hitters Logan Eggleston (11 points on nine kills and two aces) and Avery Skinner (nine points on seven kills and two blocks) each hit over .400 for the match. Skinner and libero Morgan Hentz paced the team with six digs apiece, and Eggleston added four. Skinner and libero Lexi Rodriguez each recorded four successful receptions.
Middle Dana Rettke scored four points on two kills and two blocks, and opposite Stephanie Samedy contributed four points on three kills and a block. Setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres served a pair of aces, giving the setters five of the team’s eight aces.
Skinner scored three points with Eggleston and Rettke scoring twice to help the U.S. jump out to a 9-4 lead in the first set. Samedy, who came in as part of a double switch with Ka’aha’aina-Torres, put a ball down the line for a 17-13 lead. Ogbogu recorded the first block of the match for a 19-14 U.S. advantage. Czechia used its first block and third ace to cut the deficit to two points, 19-17. The U.S. scored the final six points, keyed by three blocks with Ogbogu either registering the block or being part of the double block. Eggleston led all players with six points.
Poulter opened the second set with her second ace and Eggleston scored off a set from Rettke for a 5-3 U.S. lead. Eggleston served back-to-back aces, the off the tape to increase the margin to five points, 9-4. Consecutive kills by Ogbogu and Thompson doubled up the score, 16-8. Thompson drilled another shot down the line for a double-digit lead, 19-9. A Ka’aha’aina-Torres ace and Rettke block made it 23-11. Samedy ended the set with a kill to put the U.S. up two sets to none. Thompson scored six points in the set. The U.S. recorded all three blocks in the set and served four aces.
Back-to-back aces gave Czechia a 5-2 lead to begin the third set. An Ogbogu block gave the U.S. its first lead of the set, 10-9. Two more Ogbogu blocks increased the lead to five, 14-9, and forced Czechia to use a timeout. A great one-handed save by Poulter set Thompson for a kill and a 20-12 U.S. advantage. Samedy ended the match on a kill.
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 at 1 a.m. vs. Italy
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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