U.S. Women Sweep Brazil in Rematch of Olympic Final

SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. (June 4, 2022) – The personnel may have changed, but the results were almost the same.

In Saturday’s greatly anticipated rematch of the Tokyo Olympic gold medal final, the U.S. Women’s National Team won by almost the same score that it achieved last year, beating Brazil 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-18) in FIVB Volleyball Nations League action at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.

The U.S. Women (3-0) will close out the first round of preliminary play at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday against Japan (3-0).

In Tokyo, the U.S. Women beat Brazil, 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 to win the program’s first-ever gold medal. But both sides had very different rosters.

Opposite Jordan Thompson was the only player on Saturday’s starting roster who was part of the U.S. team in Tokyo. But she did not play against Brazil in Tokyo due to an injury.

On Saturday she led all scorers with 19 points on a match-high 15 kills, a match-high three aces and one block. She had a key serving run in the third set that took the U.S. Women from a 2-5 deficit to an 8-5 lead. The run included two aces and a back-row kill from the gold medalist.

Outside hitter Ali Frantti, who is making her U.S. Women’s National Team debut at VNL, added 13 points on 11 kills and two blocks.

Outside hitter Sarah Wilhite Parsons scored 12 points on nine kills and three blocks. Middle blocker Dana Rettke added nine points on five kills, three blocks and one ace.

Rettke also had some serving runs and her blocks energized the U.S. Women on their way to the win.

“I thought we did well. I thought we did a good job of controlling the things we could control,” Rettke said. “Brazil gave us some different looks since we were putting on the pressure and we were prepared for that.”

Wilhite Parsons praised the U.S. coaches for preparing the team for Brazil.

“Our coaches had a great scouting report for us. We had a great plan,” Wilhite Parsons said. “We didn’t know exactly who was going to be on the court (for Brazil). But I think we prepared well against each hitter and executed well.”

The U.S. Women led Brazil in kills (45-32), blocks (11-8) and aces (6-2). Brazil scored 17 points on U.S. errors while committing 13. The U.S. hitting efficiency behind setter Lauren Carlini was .255. Brazil hit .125.

Among other U.S. scorers, middle Anna Stevenson made her first start for the U.S. Women and scored six points on four kills and two blocks. Carlini scored three points on one kill and two aces.

Libero Morgan Hentz was credited with 17 digs and eight successful receptions.

All matches will be shown on VolleyballWorld.tv, which is a subscription service.

U.S. Women’s Roster for VNL First Round
No. Name (Pos., Ht, Hometown, College, USAV Region)

5 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
6 Tori Dixon (MB, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
9 Madi Kingdon Rishel (OH, 6-1, Phoenix, Ariz., Univ. of Arizona, Arizona)
10 Brionne Butler (MB, 6-4, Kendleton, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
12 Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati, North Country)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
18 Kara Bajema (OH, 6-2, Lynden, Wash., Univ. of Washington, Puget Sound)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kan., Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
22 Kendall White (L, 5-5, Zionsville, Ind., Penn State, Hoosier)
30 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
31 Anna Stevenson (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Alfee Reft
Performance Analyst: Brian Hurler
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Doctor: Christopher Lee
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel

2022 U.S. Women’s VNL Schedule (All times PDT)

Week 1 – Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18)
USA def Canada, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19)
USA def Brazil, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-18)

Sunday, June 5
1 p.m. Japan vs. USA

Week 2 – Quezon City, Philippines
Wednesday, June 15
12 a.m. USA vs. Bulgaria

Thursday, June 16
8 p.m. USA vs Poland

Saturday, June 18
4 a.m. USA vs China

Sunday, June 19
Midnight USA vs Thailand

Week 3 – Calgary, Canada
Wednesday, June 29
7 p.m. USA vs Belgium

Thursday, June 30
7 p.m. USA vs Serbia

Saturday, July 2
1 p.m. USA vs Turkey

Sunday, July 4
1 p.m. USA vs Germany

Finals: July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey