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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 5, 2026) – The U.S. Women’s National Team earned a thrilling 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 27-25, 23-25, 15-11) victory over France at the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Friday night in Quebec City, Quebec.
The U.S. (2-1) has a day off before finishing up VNL Week One against Germany (1-1) on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. PT.
Both teams finished with 66 kills. France led in blocks (10-8) and service aces (7-4) but committed 35 errors compared to 24 for the U.S.
“Every match at VNL is going to be like that this year. Teams that may have been a little lower last year have gotten better, the middle teams have gotten stronger, and the top teams are great. I’m real proud of the way we hung in there and fought,” said U.S. head coach Erik Sullivan. “It’s awesome to see the systems that people are running and to have five great physical attackers on the court. It’s a really fun game to watch.”
Outside hitter Simon Lee-Wank led all players with 22 kills and paced the U.S. with 24 points, adding a block and an ace. Wank also contributed 14 digs and a team-high seven successful receptions.
“It was really exciting. It was a good fight from a really good French team. It’s not our typical starters and I think we did such a great job staying together and fighting to the last point,” she commented. “It’s so nice to look at your teammates and know they are going to fight just as hard as you. You can see that on the court, and you can see that in our celebrations. It’s mentally and physically exhausting, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. To fight with these women is amazing.”
Opposite Stephanie Samedy carried the U.S. in the third set and finished with 20 points on 18 kills, a block and an ace. Libero Morgan Hentz made several spectacular plays and led the team with 15 digs, while also finishing with four successful receptions. Samedy and setter Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres, whose setting led the U.S. to a .417 hitting percentage (11 kills, 1 error, 24 attacks) in the decisive set, each totaled 12 digs.
Outside hitter Madi Kubik-Banks scored 16 points on 13 kills, two blocks and an ace. She added nine digs. Middle blockers Molly McCage (six kills, one block) and Sami Francis (five kills, two blocks) each finished with seven points.
Three consecutive kills by Lee-Wank gave the U.S. a 10-5 lead in the first set. The lead stretched to five points, 14-9, when Francis scored on the longest rally of the set. France scored the next two points, and its next serve went off the net, where Kubik-Banks made a great pickup and Samedy ended up scoring for a 15-11 lead.
A Kubik-Banks ace raised the advantage back to five, 18-13. Lee-Wank pushed a ball of the block and out of bounds for her fifth point of the set to make it 20-16. France pulled within two points, 22-20, on a block, but the U.S. scored three of the final four points to take the set. Jordan Thompson came in on the last play as part of a double substitution with Rachel Fairbanks and produced the set-ending block.
Two strong Hentz digs led to a Lee-Wank kill gave the U.S. a 7-6 lead in the second set. Lee-Wank broke another tie with a kill for a 9-8 lead and Ka’aha’aina-Torres scored on an overpass on the following play for a two-point lead. France moved ahead 16-15, its first lead since 6-5, and then used a block to double the margin to two points, 18-16. France’s 12th service error of the match and hitting error tied the set at 18.
The teams exchanged points with the U.S. getting kills from Samedy, Lee-Wank and McCage before France took a 23-21 advantage and forced the second U.S. timeout. A hitting error cut the deficit back to one, at which point France called a timeout. McCabe’s kill stopped one set point and made it 24-23 France with a U.S. serving error evening the match at a set apiece. Lee-Wank (four points) and Kubik-Banks (three points) led the U.S. in the second set. France won the set despite 12 errors.
France used a three-point spurt to take the first two-point lead of the third set, 9-7. A Samedy kill put the U.S. in front, 13-12 but France used a pair of blocks to regain a two-point lead, 15-13. A McCage kill evened the set again at 15 but France bounced back with the next four points, the last on an ace, for the biggest lead of the set, 19-15. A back row attack by Kubik-Banks cut the margin back to two points, 20-18.
Down 21-18, the U.S. went on a 5-1 run to retake the lead. Kills by Francis and Lee-Wank helped the U.S. tie the set at 20 and back-to-back kills by Samedy put the U.S. ahead 23-22. Samedy turned, fired and scored from a tough position for a 24-23 lead. France had set point at 25-24 but Samedy scored again to tie it and then served an ace that just caught the back line to give the U.S. another set point with her set-high ninth point. The U.S. took the set and a 2-1 match lead on a McCage block.
A setter dump by Ka’aha’aina-Torres and a kill from Lee-Wank gave the U.S. a 7-5 lead in the fourth set before France used a 6-2 run for a 11-9 lead. A Francis block tied the set back up at 11. After giving up the next two points, the U.S. went on a 5-1 run to take a 16-14 lead. Francis tied the score at 14 apiece after great defense by Lee-Wank and Hentz, the first of three consecutive Francis kills, the final on a set from Lee-Wank. Samedy made it 16-14 with another kill. France called timeout and promptly tied the set again by scoring the next two points.
The U.S. took an 18-17 lead on a Francis kill off the block and 19-18 on a Lee-Wank kill but France scored the next three points for a 21-19 advantage. Lee-Wank and Samedy produced kills that tied the score at 22 and a Lee-Wank ace put the U.S. up 23-22. France scored the final three points of the set to send the match to a fifth set.
An ace gave France its first lead of the fifth set, 5-4, but Lee-Wank registered three consecutive kills, the third of which was her 20th of the match and was set up by a great dig from Kubik-Banks. A Logan Eggleston ace capped a 4-0 stretch that gave the U.S. an 8-5 lead. Francis scored on an overpass to make it 10-7 and Lee-Wank scored again, this time with a successful video challenge by the U.S., to establish a four-point margin.
Another Lee-Wank kill, her fifth of the set, made it 12-8. France scored the next two points, the second on a successful video challenge, but Samedy scored her 20th point of the night to put the U.S. ahead 13-10. After surrendering the next point, the U.S. finished the match with a McCage kill that clipped the net and a Kubik-Banks kill set up by another great dig from Hentz.
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State, Oklahoma)
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)
14 Anna Hall (MB, 6-2, Laurens, S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)
20 Rachel Fairbanks (S, 6-0, Tustin, Calif., Pitt, Southern California Southern Nevada)
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)
77 Sami Francis (MB, 6-6, San Diego, Calif., Stanford, Southern California Southern Nevada)
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 at 11:30 a.m. vs. Germany
Week 2: Philippines
June 16 at 9 p.m. vs. Dominican Republic
June 18 at 1 a.m. vs. Czechia
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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