U.S. Women to Play for VNL Bronze Medal

ARLINGTON, Texas (July 15, 2023) – The U.S. Women’s National Team almost took Türkiye to a fifth set, but the comeback came up short and the European side won 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 24-26, 27-25) in the semifinals of the Volleyball Nations League on Saturday at the College Park Center.

The U.S. Women (11-3) will play Poland (11-3) for the bronze medal on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT (noon PT). Türkiye (11-3) will play China (10-4) for the gold medal at 5:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. PT).

MATCH STATISTICS

The U.S. Women scored four straight points at the end of the third set to fight off two Türkiye match points and go from a 24-22 deficit to a 26-24 set win behind the strong serving and passing of outside Ali Frantti.

“I like to be an energy person,” said Frantti, who started the third and fourth sets as a substitute outside hitter and scored 12 points on 12 kills. She had six digs and four successful receptions. “I just bring out a little more fire. When that happens, I feel like it’s a chain reaction. People play with their chest out. I just wanted to be a difference maker out there.”

Türkiye took match point in fourth set at 24-21. The U.S. Women scored four straight points to take the lead at 25-24. But Türkiye came back with three straight points to end the match.

“When you have a match like that, it’s a race to the finish,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “You only have three sets to try to find some answers. We were happy to get to an answer that extended it to a fourth.

“There are things we have to clean up for sure. But I’m also pleased that we came up with some answers that put a very good team in trouble. That’s a very good team. They’re playing very good volleyball right now.”

The teams tied in kills (50-50). Türkiye let in blocks (18-14) and the U.S. led in aces (3-2). Türkiye scored 31 points on U.S. errors and committed 19.

Outside hitter Khalia Lanier started the whole match at led the U.S. scoring with 18 points on 16 kills, one block and one ace. She led the team in digs with 13 and in successful receptions with seven.

Opposite Annie Drews, who left the match in the fourth set for Jordan Thompson, scored 14 points on 12 kills and two blocks.

Setter, Micha Hancock scored seven points on four kills, two blocks and one ace. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes was credited with 10 digs and two successful receptions.

Middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu scored six points on two kills, three blocks and one ace before leaving in the third set for Asjia O’Neal, who scored three points on three blocks.

Outside hitter Avery Skinner took over for Kelsey (Robinson) Cook in the first set and started the second before leaving for Frantti. She scored three points on three kills.

Middle blocker Dana Rettke subbed for Haleigh Washington in the second set and scored two points on two blocks.

Thompson and Cook each scored one point.

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 USA def Japan 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 18-25, 25-18)
July 15 Türkiye def USA 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 24-26, 27-25)
July 16 at 1 p.m. Bronze medal: USA vs Poland
July 16 at 4:30 Gold medal: China vs Türkiye