USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team opened play in Pool B with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) over Argentina. Jordan Thompson finished the match with 20 points under her name.
The USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team played their second match in Pool B with a sweep, a 3-0 win (29-27, 25-22, 25-21) over China, the reigning Olympic champs. Jordan Thompson once again stole the show, finishing the match with 34 points under her name, meaning she scored over 43% of Team USA’s points. She had 28 kills, 4 blocks, and 2 aces! Kim Hill was used as a serving sub for all three sets. Justine Wong-Orantes was credited for a 94.12% receiving efficiency. A very nice win indeed for Team USA!
The USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team played their third match in Pool B with a 3-2 win (25-19, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 15-12) over Turkey. This was the first five-setter for Team USA this year. What looked like it would be a sweep based on the first two sets turned into another story in Sets 3 and 4. Turkey began to get more touches on the block and digs in the backcourt. In Set 5, USA went off on a blazing start, only for Turkey to play their way back in. It wasn’t until late in the set when USA got back-to-back blocks that allowed them to draw two points clear and closed out the match.
It was just not meant to be for the USA’s Indoor Volleyball Women’s team in the fourth pool play match. Facing off against the ROC, they never found their groove, losing 0-3 (20-25, 12-25, 19-25), the first loss in the Tokyo Olympics. They had problems siding out, whether it was finding a space to put the balls to kill or getting past the Russian block at the net. Jordan Thompson also rolled her ankle mid-match and was subbed out by Annie Drews. They will have a day to rebound in the last match against Italy, who surprisingly lost to China in straight sets.
The USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team played their fifth and final match in Pool B with a 3-2 win (21-25, 25-16, 25-27, 25-16, 15-12) over Italy. This is the second five-setter for Team USA this year. After a loss to ROC in straight sets previously, USA played some inspired volleyball and did not give up. In Set 1, they stayed close within Italy, but needed to settle in. They won decisively in Set 2 and cruised through most of Set 3 until Italy came back and stole the set. Jordyn Poulter, the setter went down with an ankle sprain for a block and was replaced by Micha Hancock. They did not let the foot off the gas in Set 4 and built a solid lead with Italy’s errors before finally tooling the block for the victory in Set 5. With ROC falling to Turkey in five sets, USA topped Pool B, setting up a matchup against the Dominican Republic in the Quarterfinals.
The USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team swept past Dominican Republic (25-11, 25-20, 25-19) in the Quarterfinals. Regular starters Jordan Thompson and Jordyn Poulter were dressed, but did not have to play on court. Instead, Annie Drews and Micha Hancock served their duties well. USA was not challenged in Sets 1 and 2, with them getting touches on the block to extend the rallies and put the ball down in transition. Dominican Republic charged forward in Set 3, with them having the lead by a couple points in Set 3, but USA held them down. Dominican Republic saved a few match points until Michelle Bartsch-Hackley tooled their block for the final point and the victory.
The USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team swept the reigning World Champs Serbia in straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-23). USA built early leads in all three sets. In Set 3, they once again built a cushion of a lead, but Serbia came fighting back little by little. Serbia sided out for the first match point so USA called a timeout to steady out, coming back in to finish the match. Serbia dug a ball but it was out, meaning USA won the final point of the match. USA served tough forcing Serbia’s service reception to be shaky. Serbia’s star player Tijana Boskovic was limited to just 19 points, along with 11 hitting errors. USA outblocked Serbia 12 to 8 and had 6 aces to their statistics. This was a redemption in a sense because Serbia knocked USA to the Bronze Medal match in the Rio Semifinals.
In the Olympics GOLD MEDAL match, the USA Women’s Indoor Volleyball team swept Brazil (25-21, 25-20, 25-14) en route to claiming the program’s first ever gold medal, after previous heartbreaks in getting the silver and bronze medals. In Sets 1 and 2, USA established themselves early on, building a lead. Brazil tried to come back towards the end of the set, but was denied. In Set 3, USA once again scored in bunches of points, not allowing Brazil to come back with the hole they dug for Brazil. The USA blocks denied Brazil into siding out and forced Brazil to commit unforced errors down the stretch. They had 11 gold medal points. It was only fitting that the captain of the team, Jordan Larson would have the last swing to finish off the match. USA finished the Olympics with a 7-1 matches won/loss record. Despite losing to the ROC in pool play, USA bounced back and showed pure domination in the last three elimination matches against Dominican Republic, Serbia, and finally Brazil.
#1 Micha Hancock (Setter) played for Igor Gorgonzola Novara in Italy for the club season and will be going back for this season. She was one of the two setters selected for the Olympics roster, out of the three on Team USA (the other two being Lauren Carlini and Jordyn Poulter). She is known for serving aces with the hardspin jumpserve she has at the service line. She wasn’t a starter, but had to step in when the starting setter Jordyn Poulter injured her ankle mid-match against Italy in pool play.
#2 Jordyn Poulter (Setter) is the youngest to make the Olympics team. She will play for Futura Volley Busta Arsizio in Italy for the club season. She was the starting setter until she rolled her ankle mid-match against Italy in the final pool play match. She was sidelined for the Quarterfinal against the Dominican Republic, but started again in the Semifinals against reigning World Champs Serbia and then the Gold Medal match against Brazil. She was named Best Setter to the Dream Team.
#4 Justine Wong-Orantes (Libero) played professionally for Wiesbaden VC in Germany during the club season. She is of Asian-American heritage. A few years ago, it did not look like she would remain on the roster, but with the recent success on the team, it seems like she is here to stay, after all the crazy digs she got to keep the ball in play. She was named Best Libero to the Dream Team.
#10 Jordan Larson (Outside Hitter) is the Captain and has a long list of accolades to her impressive volleyball career. She has played professionally in Puerto Rico, Russia, Turkey, and China. She will be playing for the Shanghai Bright Ubest team once again and then return to the Athletes Unlimited Volleyball professional league for Season 2. She is a wonderful team leader, and it shows as the team is more stable and calm through her presence on the court. She is a great passer who knows exactly which shot to use to get the point. She was named as one of the Best Outside Hitters to the Dream Team. With this gold medal, she completes her collection of all colors of the Olympic medals, just like her teammate Foluke Akindarewo Gunderson. Although not formally decided and announced yet, this was likely Jordan’s last match with Team USA.
#11 Annie Drews (Opposite) plays professionally for JT Marvelous in Japan. She was not the original starter in the Opposite position, but after Jordan Thompson rolled her ankle mid-match against the ROC, she subbed in for the remaining matches. She proved herself worthy and did an excellent job. In the match against Serbia, she served 3 aces.
#12 Jordan Thompson (Opposite) plays professionally for Eczacıbaşı VitrA in Turkey. She was the leading scorer for Team USA. In the pool play match against China, she led with 34 points, in just 3 sets played. It was looking more and more like she would be USA’s star player with the most points scored. But, she landed on a teammate’s foot during a play in the match against the ROC, requiring immediate rehabilitation. For the next match, she could only watch from the bleachers as she sat with the Normatec on her legs. She was suited for the rest of the matches, but was not required as Annie Drews did such a good job.
#13 Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (Outside Hitter) will be playing professionally for Vakifbank S.K. in Turkey. There were some moments in matches where she looked shaky, either through passing the ball or committing a hitting error, but she stabilized when it mattered. She was named Best Outside Hitter to the Dream Team.
#15 Kimberly Hill (Outside Hitter) played professionally for Imoco Volley Conegliano in Italy during the club season, with the club winning all the trophies possible in the 2020-21 season. Kim Hill was a star spiker during the club season, but was not used as a spiker in the Olympics. Rather, she was the serving substitute for Foluke Akindarewo Gunderson (whose brother married Kim’s sister). She adds to the bronze medal from Rio 2016. This is perhaps Kim’s last volleyball tournament, as she has announced retirement from the sport.
#16 Foluke Akindarewo Gunderson (Middle Blocker) played professionally for Hisamitsu Springs in Japan. After a surprise pregnancy in 2019, she had to work her way back, due to a severe case of diastasis recti, where she had to regain her core strength. The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics worked in her favor, giving her more time to recover and train with the team. With this gold medal, she completes her collection of all colors of the Olympic medals, just like her teammate Jordan Larson.
#22 Haleigh Washington (Middle Blocker) plays professionally for Igor Gorgonzola Novara in Italy for the club season and will be going back for this season. She was impressive as a starting Middle Blocker for Team USA, getting the blocks in addition to the slide attacks from the back row. She was named one of the Best Middle Blockers to the Dream Team.
#23 Kelsey Robinson (Outside Hitter) played professionally for Guangdong Evergrande in China and Fenerbahçe in Turkey during the club season. She will be playing for Toyota Queenseis in Japan this season. She was only utilized as a substitute in matches where Team USA was down to add an extra spark to bring the team back up. She adds to the bronze medal from Rio 2016.
#24 Chiaka Ogbogu (Middle Blocker) played for Eczacıbaşı VitrA, but will be playing for Vakifbank S.K. in Turkey. She was only utilized as a substitute in matches where Team USA was down to offer some changes as needed.
The USA women’s national team and staff pose for a photo/Ed Chan, VBshots.com The team reunites to celebrate/Ed Chan, VBshots.com The USA squad has as tearful celebration/Ed Chan, VBshots.com The USA women’s volleyball gold medalists on the medal stand/Ed Chan, VBshots.com Jordyn Poulter sets outside/Ed Chan, VBshots.com The team reacts after Jordan Larson puts away the match-winning kill/Ed Chan, VBshots.com Head coach Karch Kiraly calls his team not only “bad sses, but gold medalists!”/Ed Chan, VBshots.com Gabi Braga Guimaraes exploits a hole in the USA blok/Ed Chan, VBshots.com Michelle Bartsch-Hackley reaches for a pipe set/Ed Chan, VBshots.com
Heading into the Olympics, Coach Karch Kiraly made it clear that Team USA’s strategy was to ‘outteam the other teams’. While, many of the other teams relied on one spiker, whether it be China (Zhu Ting), Serbia (Tijana Bošković), or Italy (Paola Egonu), Team USA tries to spread the offensive attacks between the athletes on the court. This proved to be effective as USA defeated all three of those teams in straight sets, limiting their attacking efficiency. Using the Volley Nations League (VNL) as a tuneup to the Olympics and extra practice also proved effective as many teams decided to keep their starting A-Team at home and instead sent their B-Team or C-Team.
With this historical win, USA won its first ever Olympics gold medal in Women’s Indoor Volleyball. They had to deal with heartbreak in previous years, but the momentum built despite the team suffering two injuries during pool play. It was Brazil who defeated the USA 3-1 in the Gold Medal match in London 2012, so it was fitting for USA to defeat Brazil to win 3-0 this time. It was Serbia who defeated the USA 3-2 in the Semifinals in Rio 2016, preventing them to play for a gold medal, so it was fitting for USA to defeat Serbia to win 3-0 this time. It was also fitting that Jordan Larson have the kill for the final point to seal the match. Tears were shed and hugs were embraced.
Jordan Larson and Foluke Akindarewo Gunderson finishes their Olympic medals collection, having earned a silver in London 2012, a bronze in Rio 2016, and finally a gold in Tokyo 2020. Coach Karch Kiraly also becomes the only person to have won 2 gold medals in Indoors and 1 gold medal in Beach as a player and 1 bronze and 1 gold medal in Indoors as a coach.
At the end of each competition, they announce the Dream Team, the best players in each position. Team USA swept 6 of the 8 awards, with Captain Jordan Larson earning the prestigious MVP award, in addition to one of the two Best Opposite Hitters.
Congrats to Team USAVWNT on the historical gold! With this 39th gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, the USA also officially surpassed China in gold medals count.