COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 6, 2016) – The U.S. Women’s National Team’s nine-match FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round schedule is set with Team USA hosting a second weekend pod in Long Beach, California, between trips to Ningbo, China, and Hong Kong.
The U.S., which is the defending World Grand Prix champions after hosting the 2015 Final Round in Omaha, Nebraska, will face Germany on June 17, followed by Japan on June 18 and Turkey on June 19 at the Walter Pyramid on the Long Beach State University campus. The matches will be the USA’s final contests against international competition on American soil before heading to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
- June 17: Japan vs. Turkey at 5:10 p.m.; USA vs. Germany at 7:10 p.m.
- June 18: Turkey vs. Germany at 5:10 p.m.; USA vs. Japan at 7:10 p.m.
- June 19: Japan vs. Germany at 3:10 p.m.; USA vs. Turkey at 5:10 p.m.
Team USA fans will also have the opportunity to tailgate prior to the June 18 match against Japan as part of the VOL-B-QUE V event outside the Walter Pyramid. This year’s VOL-B-QUE, the biggest volleyball tailgate party in the USA, is the first of the annual event series that is tied to the U.S. Women’s National Team after four events promoting the U.S. Men’s National Team. At VOL-B-QUE, fans arrive dressed in red, white and blue and are entertained with music, grass volleyball on the Pyramid lawn and other assorted games before heading into watch the match. Fans wishing to attend both the VOL-B-QUE tickets come on a first-come, first-serve basis includes a ticket to the match.
The U.S. last hosted a World Grand Prix preliminary round weekend 20 years ago. The Americans hosted segments of the event in 1995 and 1996 at Honolulu before being selected to host last year’s Final Round in Omaha. Team USA hosted Japan in both the 1995 and 1996 World Grand Prix stops in the U.S.
Before hosting its World Grand Prix weekend, the U.S. Women travel to Ningbo, China, to play Germany on June 10, Thailand on June 11 and host China on June 11. Team USA makes its second trip to Asia after the Long Beach weekend to play Germany on June 24, Netherlands on June 25 and China on June 26.
The top five teams through the preliminary round plus Thailand will compete in the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals held July 6-10 in Bangkok, Thailand. Should the USA qualify for the Finals, the squad will make a third round-trip to Asia in a month’s time.
The U.S., which has won the World Grand Prix six teams, is ranked No. 1 in the world and has won six of its last seven tournaments dating back to winning the 2014 FIVB World Championship. The Americans will face second-ranked China twice during the preliminary round, in addition to No. 5 Japan, No. 10 Turkey, No. 11 Germany (three times), No. 13 Thailand and No. 14 Netherlands.
To date, only the USA and China have qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games. Japan, Netherlands and Thailand are all competing in the combined World Olympic Qualification Tournament/Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament May 14-22 in Japan.
2016 FIVB World Grand Prix Preliminary Round Weekends
Pool A: June 10-12 at Ningbo, China (times are local)
June 10: USA vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
June 10: China vs. Thailand, 7:30 p.m.
June 11: USA vs. Thailand, 3 p.m.
June 11: China vs. Germany, 7:30 p.m.
June 12: Thailand vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
June 12: USA vs. China, 7:30 p.m.
Pool B: June 9-12 at Rio de Janeiro (all times local)
June 9: Brazil vs. Italy, 2:10 p.m.
June 9: Japan vs. Serbia, 4:30 p.m.
June 10: Brazil vs. Japan, 2:10 p.m.
June 10: Italy vs. Serbia, 4:30 p.m.
June 12: Brazil vs. Serbia, 10:05 a.m.
June 12: Italy vs. Japan, 12:30 p.m.
Pool C: June 10-12 at Kaliningrad, Russia (all times local)
June 10: Turkey vs. Belgium, 4:40 p.m.
June 10: Russia vs. Netherlands, 7:10 p.m.
June 11: Turkey vs. Netherlands, 4:40 p.m.
June 11: Russia vs. Belgium, 7:10 p.m.
June 12: Netherlands vs. Belgium, 4:40 p.m.
June 12: Russia vs. Turkey, 7:10 p.m.
Pool D: June 17-19 at Macau, China (all times local)
June 17: Brazil vs. Serbia, 4 p.m.
June 17: China vs. Belgium, 8 p.m.
June 18: Brazil vs. Belgium, 2:30 p.m.
June 18: China vs. Serbia, 5 p.m.
June 19: Belgium vs. Serbia, 1 p.m.
June 19: China vs. Brazil, 3:30 p.m.
Pool E: June 17-19 at Long Beach, California (all times local)
June 17: Turkey vs. Japan, 5:10 p.m.
June 17: USA vs. Germany, 7:10 p.m.
June 18: Turkey vs. Germany, 5:10 p.m.
June 18: USA vs. Japan, 7:10 p.m.
June 19: Japan vs. Germany, 3:10 p.m.
June 19: USA vs. Turkey, 5:10 p.m.
Pool F: June 17-19 at Bari, Italy (all times local)
June 17: Russia vs. Netherlands, 5:30 p.m.
June 17: Thailand vs. Italy, 8:30 p.m.
June 18: Thailand vs. Russia, 5:30 p.m.
June 18: Netherlands vs. Italy, 8:30 p.m.
June 19: Netherlands vs. Thailand, 5:30 p.m.
June 19: Russia vs. Italy, 8:30 p.m.
Pool G: June 24-26 at Ankara, Turkey (all times local)
June 24: Turkey vs. Belgium, 5 p.m.
June 24: Italy vs. Brazil, 8 p.m.
June 25: Turkey vs. Italy, 5 p.m.
June 25: Brazil vs. Belgium, 8 p.m.
June 26: Italy vs. Belgium, 5 p.m.
June 26: Turkey vs. Brazil, 8 p.m.
Pool H: June 24-26 at Hong Kong (all times local)
June 24: USA vs. Germany, 6:30 p.m.
June 24: China vs. Netherlands, 8:30 p.m.
June 25: USA vs. Netherlands, 1:15 p.m.
June 25: China vs. Germany, 3:45 p.m.
June 26: Netherlands vs. Germany, 1:15 p.m.
June 26: USA vs. China, 3:45 p.m.
Pool I: June 24-26 at Kyoto, Japan (all times local)
June 24: Serbia vs. Russia, 4:10 p.m.
June 24: Japan vs. Thailand, 7:10 p.m.
June 25: Thailand vs. Russia, 4:10 p.m.
June 25: Japan vs. Serbia, 7:10 p.m.
June 26: Serbia vs. Thailand, 4:10 p.m.
June 26: Japan vs. Russia, 7:10 p.m.
FIVB World Grand Prix Finals: July 6-10 at Bangkok, Thailand
Top 5 Ranked Teams in Preliminary Round + Host Thailand