USA falls to Türkiye; Olympic volleyball roster coming this week

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Jordyn Poulter units with one hand as she tries to attach with Dana Rettke/Volleyball World picture by Dana Drambarean, @wager.on.her.collective

ARLINGTON, Texas — That is the week.

After two rounds of Volleyball Nations League, during which the USA girls completed 4-4 and stand in eighth-place within the 16-team area, that is the week that coach Karch Kiraly stated the USA’s Paris Olympic roster will likely be launched.

The staff will include 12 gamers and one alternate — an alternate who, for the primary time, will be subbed into the roster in the course of the Video games — and Kiraly and workers have robust choices to make.

Talking of robust, they’re coming off one other robust defeat. 

The Individuals, who misplaced in 4 to Poland on Saturday, misplaced in 5 Sunday, this time to Türkiye 25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 25-12, 12-15 in a fierce battle in an almost sold-out School Park Middle on the campus of UT Arlington.

Now, earlier than the staff heads to Fukuoka, Japan, for the third spherical that begins June 11, they’ll regroup on the coaching heart in Anaheim and put together for the stretch run into the summer time.

“We want to title (the roster) sooner or later this week. We’re undecided we’re going to perform that, however we’re optimistic. We want to journey to week three with our Olympic staff,” Kiraly stated. “Plus a few alternates. We haven’t discovered who these will likely be. That’s one thing that’s hanging over the pinnacle of all of the folks right here and all of our folks dwelling, too. It’s not a simple time for them.

“It’s a extremely demanding time, not solely to must not solely compete exhausting with a number of the world’s prime groups, like Poland and Türkiye, but additionally the stress of a looming resolution coming in a number of brief days.”

The USA workers has robust choices to make, significantly at exterior hitter and setter, and two veterans, reverse Annie Drews and outdoors Kelsey Robinson Cook dinner, had not performed VNL but. And what participant/function does the workers need to fill with the alternate?

The USA, after all, received the gold on the final Olympics, in 2021 in Tokyo, however now additionally has to give attention to remaining within the prime eight to make the VNL finals. 

The Individuals led 11-9 within the fifth set earlier than Türkiye went on a 7-1 run, a mix of huge performs by the Turks and a few premature errors by the USA.

Reverse Jordan Thompson led the USA with 13 kills, seven digs and three blocks. Exterior Jordan Larson had 12 kills and two of the staff’s three aces to go along with 9 digs. Setter Jordyn Poulter had the opposite ace to go along with two kills and 11 digs. Her staff hit .280 and had 9 serving errors.

Three of them got here from Kathryn Plummer, who once more began at exterior hitter. She had seven kills however 4 errors and had a block. Avery Skinner changed her within the third set and had three kills. Then Ali Frantti took that spot within the fourth set and lit it up from the beginning because the Individuals received that set 25-12.

“That was an anomaly. Groups usually are not going to go up 18-7 on Türkiye fairly often,” Kiraly stated, “However we put collectively some very nice volleyball and Ali performed a giant function in that, giving us that spark that bought us going.”

Frantti completed with six kills, however three of her 4 errors got here within the fifth.

Center Dana Rettke had one other robust match, with 10 kills in 17 errorless assaults, three blocks and 6 digs. Chiaka Ogbogu performed the primary three units at center and had two kills and 5 blocks. Haleigh Washington changed her and sparkled within the fourth set three kills in as many swings and two blocks. However Washington — who performed all 4 of her years at Penn State with Frantti — didn’t get a block or a kill within the fifth. They had been freshman at Penn State when setter Micha Hancock was a senior. Hancock performed briefly and had a kill.

“We’re nonetheless discovering our groove,” Washington admitted. “I really like that we’re preventing and pushing folks and we’re not one of the best we will be but.”

Libero Justine Wong-Orantes had 14 digs.

Türkiye is 6-2 and in fifth place. Poland and Brazil each are 8-0 and Italy and Japan are additionally 6-2.

Melissa Vargas was beastly for Türkiye and had 23 kills, two blocks, 10 digs and two aces. Ebrar Karakurt had 17 kills, 10 digs and two blocks.

They’re a handful and really robust to game-plan for,” Kiraly stated.

Eda Erdem had 9 kill and three blocks. 

“It was a extremely robust match for us,” Erdem stated. “USA is a superb staff they usually’re actual fighters. Within the tiebreaker, we stepped up and confirmed our character as a staff. 

“Our aim right here was to complete this week with 4 wins and I’m glad we did it. My teammates had been wonderful this week. We had accidents and it’s a protracted event, however we’re making an attempt to do our greatest and discover our rhythm. I feel we’re on the fitting path.”

Earlier Sunday at UTA, Canada swept Korea to enhance to 5-3 and keep within the hunt for an Olympic berth.

In keeping with Volleyball World, “Although the 1.85 World Rating factors they earned with the consequence weren’t sufficient to push them above the Netherlands (290.95), who at the moment maintain the final spot contained in the qualification zone, it bought them to 288.74, retaining the gap between the 2 nationwide groups at simply over two factors forward of the final week of the VNL Preliminary Part.”

Canada can even be in Fukuoka and performs Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and France. The USA performs France, the Netherlands and Japan.



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