The USA women won the first two sets Sunday, lost the next two, and then overpowered host Türkiye in the fifth to finish the first round of the Volleyball Nations League 4-0.
It left the Americans tied with Poland and China as the women take a week break and the men’s VNL begins.
The USA opened the tournament in Antalya, Türkiye with five-set victories over Serbia and Italy and swept Korea before beating the home team 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 11-25, 15-9.
Obviously the USA turned things around in the fifth set.
“We’ve been saying this week be where your feet are, so don’t think about the last point, don’t think about the next one, and honestly, after the fourth we were in the mud,” veteran opposite Annie Drews said to VolleyballMag.com’s Emily Ehman in the post-match Volleyball World TV interview.
“We could not have been more in a hole, but we were gonna find a way out of it, one at a time.”
Drews, the Olympic gold medalist who played at Purdue, not only talked the talk but walked the walk. She led the USA with 17 kills and had seven digs and two aces.
Drews had well-deserved praise for her young teammates.
Avery Skinner, a first-time VNL player who won an NCAA title at Kentucky and played Baylor, added 16 kills and nine digs and the other first-time VNL outside, Khalia Lanier, had 11 kills, six digs and a block. Former Wisconsin middle Dana Rettkie had eight kills and a block and current Texas middle Asjia O’Neal had four kills — hitting .500 — and an ace. Micha Hancock, back at setter, had a team-high 13 digs, three kills and an ace. Libero Justine Wong-Orantes had 12 digs.
Türkiye’s one-two punch of Melissa Vargas and Ebrar Karakurt was nearly unstoppable all match. Vargas, the Cuban who became eligible for Türkiye this year, only played the last four sets and had 21 kills, a block, three aces and six digs. Karakurt had 20 kills, two blocks, six digs and four aces. Ilkin Ayden had eight kills, 12 digs, two blocks and an ace. Gizem Orge had 18 didgs.
“(Türkiye) is such a physical team and they’re very balanced,” Drews said. “They have a wonderful setter (Cansu Özbay) who stretched their offense and I think we talked about being simple and staying loose.”
The match was played before a sold-out, enthusiastic crowd, something USA…
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