U.S. Women's Patience Pays off in Sweep of Japan at VNL

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 13, 2021) – The U.S. Women’s National Team steam train kept barreling down the track on Sunday with a sweep of Japan (25-23, 26-24, 25-20) at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy.

A showdown looms on Monday as the first-place U.S. Women (11-0) will face second-place Turkey (9-2) at noon PT. All matches are being shown live on VolleyballWorld.tv.

The words of the day for the U.S. Women were “patience and aggressive,” said middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu, who finished the match with four blocks and three kills.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS * TEAM STATISTICS

“Patience when we need to be and aggressive when we know we have the opportunities to score,” Ogbogu said.

The U.S. Women led Japan in kills (49-41), blocks (9-1) and aces (5-4), but Japan also scored 21 points on U.S. errors while only committing 13. Japan also led in digs (98-75).

“Japan is very good defensively and we knew that,” Ogbogu said. “That’s where the patience comes in. We had to be patient with our swings and also patient with our covering. They are really good at covering each other and getting the next ball back.”

Outside hitters Michelle Bartsch-Hackley and Kelsey Robinson each finished with 14 points for the U.S. Bartsch-Hackley scored on 12 kills (.444) one block and one ace. Robinson scored on 11 kills, two aces and one block.

Opposite Annie Drews scored 10 points on nine kills and one ace. Middle blocker Haleigh Washington finished with eight points on seven kills and one block. Jordan Thompson, who didn’t start but played several times as part of a double substitution when she and setter Jordyn Poulter entered for setter Micah Hancock and Drews, scored seven points.

Hancock scored two points on two blocks and Poulter had a point with an ace. They combined to set the U.S. Women to a .376 hitting efficiency. Libero Justine Wong Orantes finished with 14 digs and five successful receptions. Robinson had 15 digs and Bartsch-Hackley had 14 successful receptions. Outside hitter Kim Hill played as a serving substitute.

The U.S. Women led the first set 23-16 when Japan went on a 6-0 scoring run to pull to within one point. U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly called his second timeout of the run and Robinson came back with a kill for set point at 24-22. Japan scored once more with an attack before Drews shut it down with a kill.

Japan led the majority of the second set and led by as many as four at 17-13. The U.S. Women scored three straight points on Japan’s error, a kill from Thompson and ace by Robinson. Later, with Japan leading 21-19, the U.S. tied it on a Bartsch-Hackley kill and block from Ogbogu. Japan reached set point first at 24-23, but Washington tied it with a kill. Washington gave the U.S. set point with a block and then won the set with another attack.

The U.S. Women jumped out to an 8-5 lead in the third set and Japan never seriously threatened.

U.S. Women’s National Team 14-Person Roster for June 13

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)
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.)
16 Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson (M, 6-3, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Stanford 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 vs Japan, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20)
June 14 at noon: USA vs Turkey

June 18 at 9 a.m.: Poland vs USA
June 19 at 3 a.m.: USA vs Russia
June 20 at 3 a.m.: China vs USA

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