The USA women improved to 3-0 with a 3- victory Tuesday over Slovenia in the Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifier in Lodz, Poland.
Annie Drews had 11 kills, eight digs and an ace as 12 of the Americans on the 14-player roster saw action in the 25-13, 25-13, 20-25, 25-13 victory.
There are four more pool-play matches left for the USA (all times Eastern):
Wednesday, September 20, vs. Korea, 8:30 a.m.
Friday, September 22, vs. Italy, 2:45 p.m.
Saturday, September 23 vs. Poland, 11:30 a.m.
Sunday, September 24, vs. Germany, 11:30 a.m.
All matches can be seen on Volleyball World TV. Use “VOLLEYBALLMAG” for a discount.
Coach Karch Kiraly put reserves into the match against Slovenia in the second set and left them in for the third when Slovenia won. In the fourth, most notably, he re-inserted starting setter Lauren Carlini in place of Ashley Evans.
Chiaka Ogbogu had five kills and seven blocks as the USA held a 15-10 blocks advantage. Kathryn Plummer had eight kills, six digs and a block. Kelsey Cook had seven kills, seven digs, a block and an ace and Jordan Larson had five kills, seven digs and two blocks.
Libero Justine Wong-Orantes had 10 kills and Carlini had two kils, a block, an ace and three digs.
After Tuesday’s action, the USA was tied atop Pool C with Italy, Poland and Germany, all 3-0. Korea, Thailand, Colombia and Slovenia are all 0-3. The top two teams at tournament’s end will clinch a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In Pool A, playing in Ningbo, China, China and Serbia are 3-0, the Netherlands and Dominican Republic are 2-1, Canada and Czechia are 1-2, and Ukraine and Mexico are 0-2.
Pool B, in Tokyo, also has a three-way tie at the top with Japan, Türkiye and Brazil all 3-0. Belgium, Aregentina and Puerto Rico are 1-2, and Bulgaria and Peru are 0-3.
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