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International Volleyball

USA sweeps Korea, face Türkiye as Volleyball Nations League first leg ends Sunday

USA sweeps Korea, face Türkiye as Volleyball Nations League first leg ends Sunday

The USA women improved to 3-0 with a 25-16, 27-25, 25-11 sweep of Korea on Saturday in Volleyball Nations League play in Antayla, Türkiye.

The USA concludes first-week play on Sunday when it faces the home team. Türkiye played Italy later Saturday and we’ll update this story with that result.

Against Korea, VNL newcomers again led the Americans. Former Purdue standout Danielle Cuttino had 11 kills, five blocks and two aces. Avery Skinner, who played at Kentucky and Baylor, had 12 kills, a block, four digs and an ace, and former BYU standout Roni Jones-Perry had six kills, 10 digs and two blocks. Ashley Evans, another Purdue product, got her first VNL action and had a kill, six digs, two blocks and two aces. Libero Morgan Hentz had 10 digs. 

The USA ralled from being down seven points in the second set, still trailing 23-21 before rallying again. The Americans had a 5-1 blocks advantage in the second set.

“That’s not the way to get set victories here,” USA coach Karch Kiraly said with a smile as he talked to VolleyballMag.com’s Emily Ehman, the VB.tv reporter, after the second set. “We were sloppy and they were surprising us on things we knew would happen in the scouting report. Luckily we cleaned it up at the end, but we can’t wait that long. That’s too good of a team.”

Said his counterpart, Cesar Hernandez Gonzalez, in English in that same intermission: “Volleyball is like this. You have to fight to the end.”

Gonzalez speaks English and uses a translator to talk to his own team. 

The third set was obviously easier for the USA, which for the match had just one more kill than Korea (37-36) but had a 5-0 advantage in aces and had 15 blocks compared to Korea’s three.

“This team and the group of girls we have here is incredible,” Cuttino told Ehman after the match. The encouragement and the confidence they instill in me, it helps me play at a higher level.”

Cuttino and Evans were Boilermakers together. Annie Drews, the Olympian who got to rest Saturday, also played at Purdue.

“Same with Annie, too, it just helps to have familiarity with someone from back home,” said Cuttino, who played this past season for Queenseis in Japan. She previously played pro in Italy for Casalmaggiore and in Brazil for Minas.

Not only did Drews get to sit, so did the other two members of the 14-player roster who won Olympic gold in Toyko, setter Micha Hancock and libero Justine Wong-Orantes.

Last-place Korea, which…

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