USA Volleyball and coach Karch Kiraly announced the 2024 women’s Olympic team roster Wednesday and it includes some of the mainstays from the team that won gold in Tokyo in 2021.
It also has new Olympic faces.
While some of the slots on the 12-player, one-official alternate roster were all but inevitable, the three biggest questions all along were who would be the four outside hitters, who would be the two setters, and who would be the alternate.
The four outsides are Olympic veterans Jordan Larson — now a four-time Olympian — and Kelsey Robinson Cook and first-timers Kathryn Plummer and Avery Skinner.
The setters are returning Olympian Jordyn Poulter and first-timer Lauren Carlini.
And the program listed five alternates, setter Micha Hancock, outside Ali Frantti, libero Morgan Hentz, middle Anna Hall and outside Khalia Lanier.
“Roster selections like this bring both the bitter and the sweet,” Kiraly said in a news release. “The bitter is that we cannot travel all 25 of these special women to Paris. But we will carry them in our hearts and thoughts, and they will continue to make us better until the last ball drops.
“The sweet is that our Olympic roster is now clear, and we are ecstatic for this group, and for our program. This group of athletes will be set to bring their best and be their most bulletproof, in what might be the deepest Olympic tournament ever.”
USA Volleyball said it will wait to name its one official alternate, who will travel to Paris and can be subbed in for an injured player during the tournament.
“Our five alternates are a special group with difficult yet critical tasks,” Kiraly said. “They must bring a good version of themselves every day; do everything they can to make the team better; and stay ready in case of injury or illness. Nobody is more capable of exceeding in those tasks than these five women.”
The middles, as presumed, are returning Olympians Haleigh Washington and Chiaka Ogbogu and newcomer Dana Rettke.
The opposites are returning Olympians Jordan Thompson and Annie Drews.
The libero is returning Olympian Justine Wong-Orantes.
A look at every player follows.
This is the first time the Olympics is allowing an official alternate, a plus-one so to speak.
Kiraly told us this in May before the first round of Volleyball Nations League:
“We expect to have an ‘alternate’ at each position because of injury or illness. But one of those five will be designated as the official alternate and have a credential and be…
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