Arlington overhaul.
The U.S. women’s 14-player roster for the second round of the Volleyball Nations League includes eight players who did not play in the first round.
The U.S. will face Canada at 7:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday at UT Arlington.
Participants include setter Micah Hancock, libero Morgan Hentz, opposite Jordan Thompson, middles Dana Rettke, Aszia O’Neal and Haley Washington, and outsides Katherine Plummer and Kalia Lanier.
Returning from Week 1, when the U.S. went 2-2, are setter Jordyn Poulter, outsides Ali Franti and Avery Skinner, libero Justine Wong Orantes and outside Jordan Larson (featured here last month).
Ogbogu (Coppell) and O’Neal (Southlake), who played at Texas, and Skinner (Katy), who played at Kentucky and Baylor, all grew up in Texas.
Ogbogu is one of seven athletes to win gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, along with Hancock, Poulter, Wong-Orantes, Larson, Thompson and Washington.
Washington, Plummer, Rettke and Lanier arrived late to the team’s training center in Anaheim because their season in Italy was still ongoing, Hentz was in the gym but returned to the Atlanta Vibe for the Professional Volleyball Federation semifinals, and Hancock and Thompson were training with the team before the first round.
The U.S. is off Wednesday and Thursday before playing Bulgaria on Friday, Poland on Saturday and defending champion Turkey on Sunday. Volleyball World reported that team captain Eda Erdem, who was not selected for Turkey in the first round, is scheduled to be in Arlington.
Volleyball World also reports that “star setter Joanna Wołos, who did not play in Turkey, will be part of the team for the matches against Serbia, Poland, Germany and the United States. The playmaker has missed the entire 2023 edition of the VNL and will be returning to the tournament for the first time in two years.”
In the first round in Rio de Janeiro, the United States beat Thailand in four sets, lost to China and Brazil in four sets each, then dominated the Dominican Republic.
Canada has high hopes of qualifying in Paris after not playing in the Olympics since 1996. Coach Shannon Windsor’s team will likely include some former NCAA players, such as Alexa Gray (BYU) and Laine Van Buskirk (Pittsburgh). Gray scored 69 points in Canada’s first four games.
Standings, Schedule
The standings at the end of the first round, including match and set records, are as follows:
1. Poland, 4-0, 12-0
2. Brazil, 4-0, 12-2
3. China, 3-1, 10-5
4. Canada, 3-1, 10-5
5. Italy, 3-1, 9-5
6. Japan, 3-1, 9-5
7. Türkiye, 2-2, 9-7
8. USA, 2-2, 8-7
9. Netherlands, 2-2, 7-7
10. Dominican Republic 2-2. 6-7
11. Germany, 1-3, 5-9
12. Serbia, 1-3, 5-9
13. France, 1-3, 3-10
14. South Korea, 1-3, 3-10
15th place: Thailand, 0-4, 3-12
16. Bulgaria, 0-4, 1-12
On Tuesday, it’s Macau, where China and Thailand will play the Dominican Republic and Brazil will take on Japan, then in Arlington, Poland and Serbia will play at 4pm CST, before the USA and Canada play at UTA College Park Center, site of last year’s VNL final.
On Wednesday in China, Italy will face France, the Netherlands will face China and South Korea will face Bulgaria. In Arlington, Germany will face Turkey and the Dominican Republic will face Italy.
All matches can be watched on Volleyball World TV.
USA Arlington players
Uniform number, name, position, height, place of birth, school
1. Micah Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Oklahoma, Penn State)
2. Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colorado, Illinois)
3. Avery Skinner (Ohio State, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Kentucky, Baylor)
4. Justin Wong Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Nebraska)
5. Ali Franti, Ohio State (6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State)
6. Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Kentucky, Stanford University)
10. Jordan Larson (Ohio State, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., NE)
12. Jordan Thompson (Opp., 6-4, Edina, Minn., Cincinnati)
15. Haley Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State)
16. Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Illinois, Wisconsin)
18. Asjia O’Neal (MB, 6-3, Southlake, Texas)
22. Katherine Plummer (Ohio State, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford University)
24. Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas)
29. Kalia Lanier (Ohio State, 6-2, Scottsdale, Arizona, USC)
