COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 17, 2023) – The U.S. Women’s National Team improved to 2-0 at the FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier on Sunday with a sweep (25-13, 25-16, 25-18) of Thailand in Łódź, Poland.
At the qualifier, eight teams are each playing seven round-robin matches over nine days. The top two teams will qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The U.S. Women (2-0) will have Monday off before playing Slovenia (0-1) on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. PT.
The U.S. Women led Thailand (0-2) in kills (41-27), blocks (16-5) and aces (4-1). Each team had 14 scoring errors.
Opposite Jordan Thompson led all scorers with 18 points on a match-high 15 kills (.609 hitting efficiency), two blocks and one ace.
Middle blocker Dana Rettke added 11 points on a match-high six blocks and five kills.
Outside hitter Kelsey (Robinson) Cook scored 11 points on eight kills, two blocks and one ace. She also led the team in receptions with 10 and added five digs.
Libero Justine Wong-Orantes led the team in digs with 12 and was credited with two excellent receptions.
Middle Chiaka Ogbogu totaled nine points on six kills and three blocks.
Setter Lauren Carlini scored six points on three kills and three blocks and set the team to a .372 hitting efficiency.
Outside hitter Jordan Larson totaled four points on three kills and one ace. She was credited with seven digs and five excellent receptions.
Outside hitter Ali Frantti played as a substitute and scored two points with a kill and an ace.
The U.S. Women are ranked No. 2 in the world and are the defending Olympic champions. The U.S. Women have competed in 12 Olympic Games, including the last 10. They have won one gold medal, three silver and two bronze.
Matches will be shown on VolleyballWorld.tv.
U.S. Women’s Roster for 2023 Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
4C Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
5 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
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)
15 Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ., Rocky Mountain)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
22 Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford, Southern California)
23 Kelsey (Robinson) Cook (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
27 Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Baylor, Lone Star)
28 Ashley Evans (S, 6-1, Liberty Township, Ohio, Purdue, Ohio Valley)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Tama Miyashiro
Second Assistant Coaches: Alfee Reft, Erin Virtue, Marv Dunphy
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Team Doctor: Mark Hutchinson
Athletic Trainer: Jackie Chan
Nutritionist: Shawn Hueglin
Massage Therapist: Luis Hernandez
Mental Performance Coach: Sue Enquist
Performance Analyst: Matthieu Van Der Broeke
U.S. Schedule for the Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier
(all times PT)
Sept. 16 USA def Colombia, 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-13)
Sept. 17 USA def Thailand, 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-18)
Sept. 19 at 11:30 a.m. USA vs Slovenia (world No. 25)
Sept. 20 at 5:30 a.m. USA vs Korea (world No. 36)
Sept. 22 at 11:45 a.m. USA vs Italy (world No. 5)
Sept. 23 at 8:30 a.m. USA vs Poland (world No. 7)
Sept. 24 at 8:30 a.m. USA vs Germany (world No. 12)