COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (July 14, 2017) – The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Turkey 25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 25-12 on Friday on the fourth day of competition at the FIVB World Grand Prix in Macau, China.
The U.S., now the only undefeated team in the World Grand Prix at 4-0, returns to action on July 15 when it faces Italy at 2:30 a.m. ET in Macau followed by host China on July 16 at 3:30 a.m. ET. The World Grand Prix is the premier annual international tournament for women.
Outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (Maryville, Illinois) led Team USA with 17 points via 11 kills on 42 swings, four aces and two blocks. Outside hitter Madi Kingdon (Phoenix, Arizona) charted 12 kills on 35 attacks. Middle Tori Dixon (Burnsville, Minnesota) chipped in 11 points with nine kills on 15 attacks, one block and one ace.
Opposite Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Illinois) tallied 11 kills on 34 attacks. Setter Micha Hancock (Edmond, Oklahoma), who sparked the U.S. off the bench in starting the final two sets, contributed three aces and a block. Liz McMahon (Liberty Township, Ohio), who was the opposite in the double set in three of the four sets, charted three kills on four sets in her reserve role.
Sarah Wilhite (Eden Prairie, Minnesota), a sub in the second set, tallied two aces in limited action. Setter Carli Lloyd (Bonsall, California) and middle Lauren Gibbemeyer (St. Paul, Minnesota) rounded out the scoring with a kill each.
Bartsch-Hackley was credited with a team-leading 16 digs and 16 excellent receptions on 24 serves. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes (Cypress, California) added 15 digs and 15 excellent receptions on 17 chances. Hancock was credited with 11 digs and 34 running sets on 62 total set attempts. Lloyd turned in 22 running sets on 48 total set attempts. Kingdon had 22 excellent receptions on 28 attempts.
With the setting combination of Hancock and Lloyd, the U.S. converted 31.6 percent of its attacks with a .184 hitting efficiency (48-20-152). The Americans held a 10-2 margin in aces to help offset Turkey’s 7-4 edge in blocks. Team USA limited Turkey to a 24.0 kill percent and .100 hitting efficiency (36-21-150).
The U.S. started Lloyd at setter, Murphy at opposite, Kingdon and Bartsch-Hackley at outside, Gibbemeyer and Dixon at middle, and Wong-Orantes at libero. Hancock and middle Hannah Tapp (Stewartville, Minnesota) started the final two sets. McMahon was a sub in all but the second set. Megan Courtney (Dayton, Ohio) was a sub in the second and third sets.
The U.S. used a 4-1 run with three kills from Kindgon to take a 7-5 lead, but Turkey answered quickly to retake the lead at 9-8. The Americans regained the lead at 15-13 with two McMahon kills around a Turkey error. The U.S. extended its lead to 19-16 with a Bartsch-Hackley kill and Turkey error. Kingdon and Murphy scored consecutive kills to increase the American lead to 21-17. Team USA reached set points 24-18 on a 3-0 run, but Turkey saved three set points before the Americans capped the set at 25-21 on a service error.
Turkey gained an early 4-1 lead in the second set and reached the first technical timeout with an 8-3 advantage. The U.S. trimmed the gap to 10-8 with a 3-0 run capped by a Lloyd overpass kill. The Americans continued to charge back to within one at 12-11 with three unanswered points on Hancock’s serve. Turkey answered with three straight to gain a 15-11 advantage. The Americans closed to within one at 15-14 with Bartsch-Hackley scoring a kill and ace around a Turkey error. Turkey won a challenge and served an ace to break the run and take a 17-14 advantage. Wilhite served consecutive aces and Murphy dinked over the block to present the Americans an 18-17 lead. The U.S. increased its lead to 20-18 with Turkey committing consecutive errors. Turkey scored four unanswered to gain a 24-22 advantage. Team USA saved two set points to knot the score at 24-all on a Hancock ace. Turkey finished the set at 26-24 on a block.
Team USA used a 3-0 run to stake a 7-5 advantage in the third set. However, Turkey scored three unanswered to go into the first technical timeout leading 8-7. Dixon aced Turkey and Bartsch-Hackley put up a block to reverse the lead to Team USA at 11-9. Kingdon powered down a kill to increase the American lead to 15-12. Out of the technical timeout, Dixon put up a block and slammed a kill to raise the gap to 18-13. Turkey closed to 20-19 with a 6-2 scoring run. Hancock served two aces in a 5-0 run to give the Americans a 25-19 victory.
The U.S. used a 7-1 run to assume a 10-4 advantage to start the fourth set. Kills by Dixon and Batsch-Hackley, a Hancock block and two Turkey errors increased Team USA’s lead to 17-7 on a 5-0 run. A Tapp kill, Kingdon overpass kill and Turkey error gave the U.S. a 22-10 advantage. Dixon slammed a kill to give the Americans match points at 24-12 and the U.S. closed the match at 25-12 on a Turkey attack error.
The U.S. has won the FIVB World Grand Prix six times, with four of the titles coming in the last seven years (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015). In the last two editions, the Americans have won gold in 2015 and reached the gold-medal match in 2016 before losing to 11-time champion Brazil. The U.S. and Brazil have held dominance over the World Grand Prix as either the Americans or Brazilians have won the tournament 17 of the 24 editions and every year since 2008
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for FIVB World Grand Prix Weekend #2
# – Player (Position, Height, College, Hometown)
1 – Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Penn State, Edmond, Oklahoma)
3 – Carli Lloyd (S, 5-11, California, Bonsall, California)
4 – Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Nebraska, Cypress, California)
5 – Sarah Wilhite (OH, 6-1, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
6 – Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Minnesota, Burnsville, Minnesota)
8 – Lauren Gibbemeyer (M, 6-2, Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota)
9 – Madi Kingdon (OH, 6-1, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona)
12 – Kelly Murphy (OPP, 6-2, Florida, Wilmington, Illinois)
14 – Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Illinois, Maryville, Illinois)
17 – Megan Courtney (OH, 6-1, Penn State, Dayton, Ohio)
19 – Hannah Tapp (M, 6-2, Minnesota, Stewartville, Minnesota)
20 – Amanda Benson (L, 5-7, Oregon, Litchfield Park, Arizona)
21 – Paige Tapp (M, 6-1, Minnesota, Stewartville, Minnesota)
23 – Liz McMahon (OPP, 6-6, Illinois, Liberty Township, Ohio)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Tama Miyashiro, Erin Virtue
Consultant Coach: Jon Newman-Gonchar
Technical Coordinator: Jeff Liu
Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Manager: Jimmy Stitz
2017 U.S. Women’s Schedule in FIVB World Grand Prix Preliminary Round
At Kunshan, China
July 7: USA def. Russia 22-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-16, 15-11
July 8: USA def. Italy 25-21, 25-22, 25-19
July 9: USA def. China 25-22, 25-22, 25-21
At Macau, China
July 14: USA def. Turkey 25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 25-12
July 15: USA vs. Italy, 2:30 a.m. ET
July 16: USA vs. China, 3:30 a.m. ET
At Cuiaba, Brazil
July 20: USA vs. Netherlands, 5:05 p.m. ET
July 21: USA vs. Belgium, 5:05 p.m.
July 23: USA vs Brazil, 9:10 a.m. ET
FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round
At Nanjing, China
Aug. 2-6
China plus top five other finishers from FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round