U.S. Women Stay Unbeaten at 2023 NORCECA With Sweep of Cuba

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 30, 2023) – The U.S. Women’s National Team has not dropped a set at the 2023 NORCECA Championship after defeating Cuba, 3-0 (25-8, 25-17, 25-14) on Wednesday in Quebec.

The U.S (2-0) will play two-time defending NORCECA Women’s Continental champion Dominican Republic at 4:30 p.m. PT on Thursday.

MATCH STATISTICS (PDF)

With a hitting efficiency of .397, the U.S. more than doubled Cuba’s kill total (43 to 20) and also recorded six of the seven aces in the match. Cuba finished with a 5-2 lead in blocks.

“Our team is doing a nice job of controlling the things we’ve been working on in terms of our first-ball touch and our service pressure,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said.

Opposite Annie Drews was the only player in the match to reach double digits in scoring with her 15 points on 14 kills and one ace. She hit .417 for the match and led the U.S. to a dominant win in the first set with five kills in her six attacks. Drews was named Player of the Match and received a selection of maple syrup products.

Middle blockers Haleigh Washington and Chiaka Ogbogu each scored eight points on seven kills with Washington adding an ace and Ogbogu posting one of two U.S. blocks. Both players hit .778 for the match with seven kills and no errors in nine attacks.

Outside hitter Jordan Larson totaled seven points on six kills and one ace, also contributing a match-high 11 successful receptions and adding seven digs. Setter Micha Hancock scored six points on three kills, the other U.S. block, and a match-high two aces.

Outside hitter Ali Frantti registered four kills and outside hitter Avery Skinner, who played the third set as a substitute, scored three points on two kills and an ace. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes led all players with nine digs.

Drews and Washington combined for 13 points in the second set, each posting six kills and Drews adding her ace. Seven U.S. players scored in the third set with Hancock leading the way with four points.

“We are looking forward to playing Dominican Republic,” Kiraly said. “We have a lot of respect for them. It’s a great team. We’ve probably played them more than any other team over the last 10 years plus.”

Seven teams are competing in Quebec, divided in two groups: Pool A consists of host Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, while Cuba, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic join the U.S. in Pool B.

The U.S. Women have won the NORCECA Championship eight times, but not since 2015. The Dominican Republic won the last two editions in 2019 and ’21.

Matches are being streamed at https://go.usav.org/23wnorcecastream.

U.S. Women’s Preliminary Roster for 2023 NORCECA Championship

No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1C Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
4 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)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Tama Miyashiro
Second Assistant Coaches: Alfee Reft, Erin Virtue
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
Team Manager: Dana Burkholder
Team Doctor: William Stetson
Massage Therapist: Ricardo Brambila

U.S. Referee: Jung Park

NORCECA Championship Schedule
All times PDT

Aug. 29 USA def. Costa Rica, 3-0 (25-3, 25-13, 25-5)
Aug. 30 USA def. Cuba, 3-0 (25-8, 25-17, 25-14)
Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m. USA vs. Dominican Republic
Sept. 1 at 2 and 4:30 p.m. Quarterfinals
Sept. 2 Classification/Semifinals
Sept. 3 Gold, Bronze, and Fifth-Place matches