Women's National Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 19, 2021) – Russia pushed the U.S. Women’s National Team, but the U.S. Women pushed back and defeated the Europeans, 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-15) on Saturday at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy.

The U.S. Women (14-0), will close out the VNL Preliminary Round against China (9-5) on Sunday at 3 a.m. PT. The U.S. Women have already qualified for the semifinals on June 24.

Russia kept the pressure on the U.S. Women for the first three sets. The U.S. Women relied on good serving and passing to get the win.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS * TEAM STATISTICS

“They hit with a lot of range,” opposite Annie Drews said. “They had a lot of players subbing in and out and we were constantly looking for solutions against their attackers on block and defense.

“I think the adjustment toward the end was we really dialed in our serves and served with a lot of pressure and made them more uncomfortable.”

The U.S. Women held the edge in kills (60-56) and blocks (10-9) but dominated in aces (13-3), led by outside hitter Jordan Larson with four and Drews with three.

U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly changed up his starting lineup once again, including starting outside hitter Kim Hill at libero. She finished with 11 digs and eight successful receptions.

Setter Jordyn Poulter set the U.S. Women to a .481 hitting efficiency to go with her two points on a kill and an ace. Russia’s hitting efficiency was .452.

“They did a really good job of challenging our block,” Drews said. “Next time, I think we’d like to come away with a few more blocks. At the end of the day, we found a way to get the job done.

Larson led all scorers with 19 points on a match-high16 kills to go with her three aces. Midde blocker Haleigh Washington scored 18 points on 13 kills (.600), a match-high four blocks and one ace. Drews had 17 points on 13 kills and one block to go with two aces.

Outside hitter Kelsey Robinson scored 16 points on 11 kills, three blocks and two aces. Middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu finished with 11 points on seven kills (.875), two blocks and two aces.
The VNL will be broadcast in the United States on the FIVB’s streaming service Volleyball World TV.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for June 19

No. Player (Position, Height, Hometown, College)

1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ.)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
6 Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
8 Hannah Tapp (M, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
10 Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Univ. of Nebraska)
11 Annie Drews (OPP, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ.)
12 Jordan Thompson (OPP, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
14 Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Champaign, Ill., Univ. of Illinois)
15 Kim Hill (OH, 6-4, Portland, Ore., Pepperdine, Univ.)
22 Haleigh Washington (M, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ.)
23 Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (M, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Luka Slabe, Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro
Technical Coordinator: Jeff Liu
Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Manager: Jimmy Stitz

May 25: USA def Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-12)
May 26: USA def Canada, 3-0 (26-34, 25-15, 25-10)
May 27: USA def Brazil 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22)

May 31: USA def Serbia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-12)
June 1: USA def Netherlands, 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18)
June 2: USA def Thailand, 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-16)

June 6: USA def Germany, 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-13)
June 7: USA def South Korea, 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-15)
June 8: USA def Italy, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16)

June 12: USA def Belgium, 3-0 (25-9, 26-24, 25-20)
June 13: USA def Japan, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20)
June 14: USA def Turkey, 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-14)

June 18: USA def Poland, 3-0 (29-27, 29-27, 25-14)
June 19: USA vs Russia, 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-15)
June 20 at 3 a.m.: China vs USA

June 23: Semifinals 1 and 2
June 24: Bronze and Gold medal matches