USA Volleyball has announced the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 25-athlete roster for Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2022. Former Husker volleyball standouts Kelsey Robinson and Justine Wong-Orantes are two of the 25 players on the roster.
The U.S. Women are the three-time defending VNL champions as well as the 2020 Olympic gold medalists and the No. 1-ranked team in the world. Fourteen players from the long list will be chosen for each week’s travel roster. The U.S. Women’s first preliminary VNL round will be May 31-June 5 at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City, La.
They will move on to play preliminary rounds in Quezon City, Philippines and Calgary, Canada. The finals will be July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey.
Karch Kiraly, in his 10th year as Women’s National Team head coach, will lead the team along with assistant coaches Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro and Alfee Reft.
“We are excited to return to competition and begin a new Olympic cycle, especially since we get to host the first phase of the 2022 VNL in Shreveport/Bossier City, Louisiana,” said U.S. Women’s Head Coach Karch Kiraly. “We’re thrilled about the people on our roster. We’ve got a great range of experience, from Olympians to people spending their first time with our program. And finally, we’re eager to face the unknowns, and see what lessons this group can gather from battling the strong teams of the world.”
Eight players on the roster return from the group that won the VNL Final Round in 2021 and later that summer took the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo: setters Micha Hancock and Jordyn Poulter, middle blockers Chiaka Ogbogu and Haleigh Washington, opposites Annie Drews and Jordan Thompson, outside hitter Kelsey Robinson and libero Justine Wong-Orantes.
Eight players on the roster have VNL experience or have been on previous VNL rosters: setter Lauren Carlini; middles Tori Dixon, Dana Rettke and Hannah Tapp; opposite Danielle Cuttino and outsides Kathryn Plummer, Madi Kingdon Rishel and Sarah Wilhite Parsons.
VNL newcomers are setter Jenna Gray, middles Brionne Butler and Anna Stevenson, opposite Nia Reed, outsides Kara Bajema, Dani Drews and Ali Frantti and liberos Morgan Hentz and Kendall White.
Five players on the roster spent their college careers representing Penn State University. Two each played previously for the University of Minnesota, Stanford University, the University of Texas, Purdue University and the University of Nebraska.
1 Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Edmond, Okla., Penn State Univ.)
2 Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Aurora, Colo., Univ. of Illinois)
3 Kathryn Plummer (OH, 6-6, Aliso Viejo, Calif., Stanford Univ.)
4 Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Cypress, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
5 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ.)
6 Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin)
8 Hannah Tapp (M, 6-3, Stewartville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
9 Madi Kingdon Rishel (OH, 6-1, Phoenix, Ariz., Univ. of Arizona)
10 Brionne Butler (MB, 6-4, Kendleton, Texas, Univ. of Texas)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ.)
12 Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota)
15 Haleigh Washington (M, 6-3, Colorado Springs, Colo., Penn State Univ.)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin)
17 Dani Drews (OH, 6-0, Sandy, Utah, Univ. of Utah)
18 Kara Bajema (OH, 6-2, Lynden, Wash., Univ. of Washington)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kan., Stanford Univ.)
20 Danielle Cuttino (Opp, 6-4, Indianapolis, Ind., Purdue Univ.)
22 Kendall White (L, 5-5, Zionsville, Ind., Penn State)
23 Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Univ. of Nebraska)
24 Chiaka Ogbogu (M, 6-2, Coppell, Texas, Univ. of Texas)
30 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State)
31 Anna Stevenson (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville)
33 Nia Reed (Opp, 6-1, Fort Lee, N.J., Penn State)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Alfee Reft
Performance Analyst: Brian Hurler
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Doctor: Christopher Lee
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Sports Dietitian: Shawna Hueglin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
2022 U.S. Women’s VNL Schedule (All times CDT)
Week 1 – Bossier City, La.
Tuesday, May 31
8 p.m. USA vs. Dominican Republic
Friday, June 3
8 p.m. USA vs. Canada
Saturday, June 4
8 p.m. USA vs. Brazil
Sunday, June 5
3 p.m. Japan vs. USA
Week 2 – Quezon City, Philippines
Wednesday, June 15
2 a.m. USA vs. Bulgaria
Thursday, June 16
10 p.m. USA vs Poland
Saturday, June 18
6 a.m. USA vs China
Sunday, June 19
2 a.m. USA vs Thailand
Week 3 – Calgary, Canada
Wednesday, June 29
9 p.m. USA vs Belgium
Thursday, June 30
9 p.m. USA vs Serbia
Saturday, July 2
3 p.m. USA vs Turkey
Sunday, July 4
3 p.m. USA vs Germany
Finals: July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey
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