COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 25, 2021) – The U.S. Women’s National Team won its third straight FIVB Volleyball Nations League title on Friday, beating Brazil in the final, 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21) in Rimini, Italy.
The U.S. Women, ranked No. 1 in the world, spent more than five weeks in Italy and finished the tournament 16-1. They will now turn their eyes to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 tournament, which begins July 25.
Outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley was named tournament MVP and Best Hitter. Jordyn Poulter was named Best Setter and Justine Wong Orantes was named Best Libero. Bartsch-Hackley was also the MVP of the 2018 VNL.
The U.S. also won $1 million for the victory. It is the same prize amount that the men’s VNL tournament offers.
OFFICIAL STATISTICS * TEAM STATISTICS
“I am just proud of the whole team, not just the 12 that we have here,” Bartsch-Hackley said. “I am really happy for us.”
Bartsch-Hackley led all scorers with 22 points on a match-high 18 kills, three blocks and one ace. Opposite Jordan Thompson added 16 points on 12 kills, two blocks and a team-high two aces.
Opposite Annie Drews, who subbed for Thompson in the second, third and fourth sets, score 12 points on 12 kills. Outside hitter Jordan Larson finished with 11 points on 10 kills and one block.
Middle blocker Haleigh Washington scored eight points on seven kills and one block. Middle Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson added seven points on five kills and two blocks.
Poulter scored six points, including a team-high four blocks. She set the U.S. Women to a .364 hitting efficiency. Brazil hit .343. Libero Justine Wong Orantes was credited with a team-high 14 digs and seven successful receptions. Bartsch-Hackley finished with 23 successful receptions.
The U.S. led in kills (66-60) and aces (3-0) while Brazil led in blocks (15-13) led by Ana Carolina Da Silva with eight. Brazil scored 20 points on U.S. errors while committing 19.
Larson, the team captain, said she was proud of her team, but also happy to be heading home.
“It’s a really hard tournament,” she said. “I am really proud of our team that kept fighting and kept competing through this whole five weeks. It’s been fun but long.”
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for June 25
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)
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)
14 Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Champaign, Ill., Univ. of Illinois)
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 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 def Russia, 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, 25-15)
June 20: China def USA, 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-17)
June 24: Brazil def Japan, 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 29-31, 25-16)
USA def Turkey, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-20)
June 25: Bronze: Turkey def Japan, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17)
Gold: USA def Brazil, 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21)