U.S. Women Find 14 for Final Round

ARLINGTON, Texas (July 11, 2023) – The women’s Volleyball Nations League Final Round is in Arlington, Texas, this week, and USA Volleyball has selected its fourteen-person roster.

The competition begins Wednesday at College Park Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington where the U.S. Women (10-2) will play Japan (7-5) at 7:30 p.m. CT.

The roster is highlighted by Olympic gold medalists Micha Hancock at setter, Annie Drews and Jordan Thompson at opposite, middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Haleigh Washington, Kelsey (Robinson) Cook at outside hitter and libero Justine Wong-Orantes.

Filling out the team are Lauren Carlini at setter, outside hitters Ali Frantti, Khalia Lanier and Avery Skinner, middles Asjia O’Neal and Dana Rettke and libero Morgan Hentz.

The U.S. Women finished the preliminary round of VNL in second place. Their only losses were to Japan and China and both scores were 3-2.

The U.S. Women are the reigning Olympic champions and ranked No. 1 in the world. They have won the VNL three times (2018, ’19, ’21) since its inception in 2018.

The team is led by Head Coach Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympian and three-time gold medalist as a player who took over as head coach of the U.S. Women in 2013.

Kiraly’s first assistant is Tama Miyashiro, who won a silver medal as a libero with the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. The second assistants are Marv Dunphy, Alfee Reft and Erin Virtue.

Get tickets for the final round at tickets.volleyballworld.com/arlington.

U.S. Women’s Preliminary Roster for 2023 VNL
No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region)

1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
5 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
12 Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati, North Country)
15 Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ., Rocky Mountain)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
23 Kelsey (Robinson) Cook (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
26 Asjia O’Neal (MB, 6-3, Southlake, Texas, Univ. of Texas, North Texas)
27 Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Baylor, Lone Star)
29 Khalia Lanier (OH, 6-2, Scottsdale, Ariz., Univ. of Southern California, Arizona)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coach: Tama Miyashiro
Second Assistant Coaches: Alfee Reft, Erin Virtue, Marv Dunphy
Performance Analyst: Rianne Verhoek
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist,
Team Manager: Dana Burkholder
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel

U.S. Women’s Schedule for the 2023 VNL
All matches will be broadcast on volleyballworld.tv

Week 1 at Antalya, Türkiye
May 31: USA def. Serbia 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-12)
June 2: USA def. Italy 3-2 (25-16, 14-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-9)
June 3: USA def. Korea 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-11)
June 4: USA def. Türkiye 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25, 15-9)

Week 2 at Brasilia, Brazil
June 13 USA def. Croatia 3-1 (17-22, 25-22, 25-18, 25-15)
June 15 USA def. Thailand 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-16)
June 17 Japan def. USA 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-6)
June 18 USA def Brazil 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-22)

Week 3 at Suwon, Korea
June 27 USA def Poland 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 27-25, 28-30, 16-14)
June 28 USA def Bulgaria 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-17)
July 1 USA def Germany 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 25-13)
July 2 China def USA 3-2 (18-25, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 15-8)

Final Round on July 12-16 at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas
(All times PT)
Quarterfinal
July 12 at 6:30 p.m. USA vs Japan