U.S. Women Roll Past Serbia at VNL

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 30, 2022) – Another match, another new roster, another win for the U.S. Women’s National Team, which beat Serbia on Thursday, 3-0 (25-17, 33-31, 25-16) in the Volleyball Nations League in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The U.S. Women remain in first place at 9-1. Japan did not play Thursday and is 8-1 in second place. The U.S. has assured itself a trip to the Final Round as part of the final eight teams on July 13-17 in Ankara, Türkiye (Turkey).

The U.S. will have Friday off and play Türkiye on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.

Only setter Jordyn Poulter and libero Justine Wong-Orantes played both Wednesday and Thursday while Kathryn Plummer and Sarah Wilhite Parsons played on the left side on Thursday, Hannah Tapp and Haleigh Washington were in the middle and Jordan Thompson was on the right.

There was no loss of quality as the U.S. led Serbia, the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, in kills (48-44), blocks (9-5) and aces (5-4). The U.S. scored 21 points on Serbia’s errors while committing 11.

Serbia did come close to winning the second set, but the U.S. Women came through at the end.

Plummer led all scorers with 18 points on a match-high 16 kills (.500 hitting efficiency) and two blocks. She led the team in successful receptions with 13.

“We were just focusing on the next point,” Plummer said of the second set. “They were doing some good things, especially the outside hitters, and we had to clean up our defense a little bit. We reset really well and that helped slow the game down, which ended up helping us in the end.”

Thompson finished with 15 points on 14 kills and one ace. She also had 10 digs.

Wilhite Parsons led the team in digs with 11 and had 11 successful receptions. She scored 12 points on 10 kills (.500) and two aces.

Washington had eight points on four kills, three blocks and one ace. Tapp added seven points on four kills, two blocks and one ace. Poulter scored two points on two blocks and set the team to a .380 hitting efficiency.

Wong-Orantes was credited with seven digs and four successful receptions.

U.S. Women’s Roster for 2022 VNL Week 3
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)
6 Tori Dixon (MB, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
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, Pugen Sound)
23 Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska, Southern California)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Alfee Reft
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

2022 U.S. Women’s VNL Schedule (All times PDT)

Week 1 – Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
May 31-June 5
USA def. Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18)
USA def Canada, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19)
USA def Brazil, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-18)
Japan def USA, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20)

Week 2 – Quezon City, Philippines
June 15-19
USA def Bulgaria, 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-20)
USA def Poland, 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-16)
USA def China, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-21)
USA def Thailand, 3-1 (17-25, 25-13, 25-23, 25-18)

Week 3 – Calgary, Canada
Wednesday, June 29-July 4
USA def Belgium, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-19)
USA def Serbia, 3-0 (25-17, 33-31, 25-16)

Saturday, July 2
1 p.m. USA vs Turkey

Sunday, July 4
1 p.m. USA vs Germany

Finals: July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey