U.S. Roster is Stacked for Friendly Matches with Türkiye

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 25, 2022) – USA Volleyball has announced the 18 U.S. Women’s National Team players who will participate in the USA Volleyball Cup friendly matches against Türkiye on Aug. 27, 28 and 30. It is also announcing the roster for Türkiye.

The USA Volleyball Cup matches will be the first time the world No. 1-ranked U.S. Women have competed in Southern California since winning the Tokyo Olympic gold medal in 2021.

Saturday, August 27, 7:30 p.m. Pacific: at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach
Sunday, August 28, 6 p.m. Pacific: at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach
Tuesday, August 30, 7:30 p.m. Pacific: at LionTree Arena in San Diego

Tickets are still available for USAV Cup matches at go.usav.org/22USAVCup. Matches will also be livestreamed on BallerTV.com, a subscription service.

Long-list Roster for the USA Volleyball Cup

Setters: Lauren Carlini, Micha Hancock, Jordyn Poulter
Opposites: Danielle Cuttino, Jordan Thompson, Annie Drews
Middles: Chiaka Ogbogu, Haleigh Washington, Hannah Tapp, Dana Rettke, Anna Hall
Liberos: Justine Wong-Orantes, Morgan Hentz
Outsides: Kelsey (Robinson) Cook, Ali Frantti, Kara Bajema, Kathryn Plummer, Sarah Wilhite Parsons

Not all 18 players will take part in every match, but all will attend all matches. The 18 also make up the long list for the FIVB World Championship, which begins on Sept. 23 in Netherlands.

“Türkiye is one of the best teams in the world,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “They gave us all we could handle and more in our pool play match at the Olympics. We barely got out with a win.

“They have made massive improvement over the last few years. They have really taken their country by storm. Women’s volleyball gets so much attention because they have gotten so much better.

“Every time we play them, they challenge us and make us better. I hope we do the same for them.”

No. Name (Pos., Ht, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ., Oklahoma)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois, Great Lakes)
3 Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford Univ., Southern California)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)
5 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
8 Hannah Tapp (MB, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
12 Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati, North Country)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, 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)
18 Kara Bajema (OH, 6-2, Lynden, Wash., Univ. of Washington, Puget Sound)
20 Danielle Cuttino (Opp, 6-4, Indianapolis, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
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)
30 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
31 Anna Hall (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Marv Dunphy
Performance Analyst: Brian Hurler
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel

Türkiye Roster for the USA Volleyball Cup
No. Name (Position, Height, Hometown)
1 Beyza Arıcı (MB, 6-4, Izmir, Türkiye)
2 Simge Şebnem Aköz (L, 5-6, Samsun, Türkiye)
3 Cansu Özbay (S, 6-0, Izmir, Türkiye)
6 Saliha Şahin (OH, 6-0, Ankara, Türkiye)
7 Hande Baladin (MB, 6-2, Kütahya, Türkiye)
9 Meliha İsmailoğlu (OH, 6-2, Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
10 Ayça Aykaç (L, 5-9, Izmir, Türkiye)
12 Elif Şahin (S, 6-2, Ankara, Türkiye)
13 Meryem Boz (OH, 6-3, Eskişehir, Türkiye)
14 Eda Erdem Dündar (MB, 6-2, İstanbul, Türkiye)
15 Ayçin Akyol (MB, 6-1, Türkiye)
17 Derya Cebecioğlu (OH, 5-11, Türkiye)
18 Zehra Güneş (MB, 6-6, Kartal, Türkiye)
20 Aylin Acar (L, 5-6, Bursa, Türkiye)
22 İlkin Aydın (OH, 6-0, Ankara, Türkiye)
99 Ebrar Karakurt (Opp, 6-5, Balıkesir, Türkiye)

Head Coach: Giovanni Guidetti