Olympians Hancock, Thompson, Washington join USA’s VNL Arlington roster

An Arlington overhaul.

The USA women’s 14-player roster for the second round of Volleyball Nations League includes eight players who did not compete in the first round.

The Americans open play Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Central at UT Arlington against Canada.

The roster includes setter Micha Hancock; libero Morgan Hentz; opposite Jordan Thompson; middles Dana Rettke, Asjia O’Neal and Haleigh Washington; and outsides Kathryn Plummer and Khalia Lanier.

Returning from the first week, when the USA went 2-2, setter Jordyn Poulter, outsides Ali Frantti and Avery Skinner, libero Justine Wong-Orantes and outside Jordan Larson (featured here last month).

Ogbogu (Coppel) 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 on the roster who won gold in the Tokyo Olympics along with Hancock, Poulter, Wong-Orantes, Larson, Thompson and Washington.

Washington, Plummer, Rettke and Lanier were late arriving to the team’s training center in Anaheim because their Italian season was still in progress. Hentz was in the gym but then returned to the Atlanta Vibe for the Pro Volleyball Federation semifinals. Hancock and Thompson were training with the team before the first round.

The USA takes Wednesday and Thursday off before playing Bulgaria on Friday, Poland on Saturday and defending champion Türkiye on Sunday. Volleyball World noted that team captain Eda Erdem, who did not olay for Türkiye in the first round, will be in Arlington.

Also worth noting from Volleyball World that “star setter Joanna Wołosz, who didn’t play in Türkiye, will now be part of the team for their matches against Serbia, Poland, Germany and the United States. The playmaker also missed the entire 2023 edition of the VNL and will reappear in the tournament after two years.”

In the first round in Rio de Janiero, the USA defeated Thailand in four sets, lost to China and Brazil in four setes each, and then swept the Dominican Republic.

Canada, which hasn’t been to the Olympics since 1996, has high hopes of clinching a spot in Paris. Coach Shannon Winzer’s roster likely will include some former NCAA players, incuding Alexa Gray (BYU) and Layne Van Buskirk (Pittsburgh). Gray had 69 kills in Canada’s first four matches.

Standings, schedule

Here are the standings after the first round, including match record and sets record:

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. Servia, 1-3, 5-9
13. France, 1-3, 3-10
14. Korea, 1-3, 3-10
15. Thailand, 0-4, 3-12
16. Bulgaria, 0-4, 1-12

Tuesday in Macao. China, Thailand plays the Dominican Republic and Brazil plays Japan. Then in Arlington, Poland plays Serbia at 4 p.m. Central before the USA vs. Canada in UTA’s College Park Center, which was the site of last year’s VNL finals.

Wednesday in China, Italy plays France, the Netherlands plays China and Korea plays Bulgaria. In Arlington, Germany plays Türkiye and the Dominican Republic plays Italy.

All matches can be seen on Volleyball World TV.

USA Arlington roster

Uniform No., Name, Position, Ht., Hometown, School
1. Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State)
2. Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Illinois)
3. Avery Skinner (OH, 6-1, Katy, Texas, Kentucky, Baylor)
4. Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Nebraska)
5. Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State)
6. Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford)
10. Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Hooper, Neb., Nebraska)
12. Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Cincinnati)
15. Haleigh Washington (MB, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State)
16. Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Wisconsin)
18. Asjia O’Neal (MB, 6-3, Southlake, Texas, Texas)
22. Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford)
24. Chiaka Ogbogu (MB, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Texas)
29. Khalia Lanier (OH, 6-2, Scottsdale, Arizona, USC)

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