U.S. Women Serve up Win over Germany

U.S. Women compete at the World Championships

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 30, 2022) – The U.S. Women led 11-0 in aces in sweeping Germany (25-17, 25-13, 26-24) on Friday in a pool-play match at the FIVB World Championship in Łódź, Poland.

The U.S. Women (4-0) will play Serbia (4-0) for pool supremacy on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT. The top four finishers in each pool will advance to the second round of pool play.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Middle blocker Anna Hall, who entered the match midway through the second set and played all of the third for starter Haleigh Washington, led all scorers with 12 points on six kills, a match-high three blocks and three aces.

“I’m just proud of the team that we feel like we can put anyone in (the match), and the team feels confident in me,” Hall said. “We’ve been itching to play, but even playing the best in practice is pretty sweet.”

Starting opposite Annie Drews finished with nine points on a match-high four aces, four kills and one block.

Middle Hannah Tapp, who started the second and third sets for Chiaka Ogbogu, finished with six points on three kills and three aces. Washington also had six points on five kills and one block.

Starting setter Lauren Carlini said the team had been working on its setter/hitter connections.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work the past few months after VNL and it’s showing in all our connections,” said Carlini, who set the team to a .418 hitting efficiency and scored five points on two kills, two blocks and an ace. “The trust we’ve built within our team is tremendous.”

Opposite Danielle Cuttino, who started the match mid second set for Drews, scored six points on six kills.

Outside hitter Kara Bajema started the second and third sets for Ali Frantti and scored five points on five kills. Outside Kelsey (Robinson) Cook added three points on three kills. Sarah Wilhite Parsons, who started midway through the second set for Cook, had two points on two kills.

Libero Morgan Hentz was credited with four digs and two successful receptions. Carlini led in digs with five and Bajema led in receptions with five.

The U.S. Women again received vocal support at the match from members of the U.S. Air Force’s 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (F-22 Raptors).

Matches are being livestreamed on VolleyballWorld.tv.

The U.S. Women are ranked No. 1 in the world. They won the World Championships for the first time in 2014. They took silver in 1967 and 2002. They took third in 1982 and 1990. They tied for fifth at the last World Championships in 2018.

U.S. Women’s Roster for 2022 FIVB World Championships
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois, Great Lakes)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
5 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
8 Hannah Tapp (MB, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
15 Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ., Rocky Mountain)
18 Kara Bajema (OH, 6-2, Lynden, Wash., Univ. of Washington, Puget Sound)
20 Danielle Cuttino (Opp, 6-4, Indianapolis, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
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)
30 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
31 Anna (Stevenson) Hall (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Marv Dunphy
Performance Analyst: Brian Hurler
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Massage Specialist: Tony Poland
Team Doctors: Warren Young and Steven Stovitz