Olympic champions USA push hard to continue undefeated in Brasilia

One of just three national teams to produce a perfect record in the opening week of the Volleyball Nations League 2023, the United States will try to maintain the same rhythm during the second round of the tournament, this week, in Brasilia.

The second-placed national team in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Rankings, the Americans will have four more battles to play at the Nilson Nelson stadium from Tuesday to Sunday and will bring their best game to get one step closer to the Finals.

• Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV

The team coached by the legendary Karch Kiraly relied heavily on veterans Micha Hancock (setter), Annie Drews (opposite) and Justine Wong-Orantes (libero), but also saw some rookies step up with great promise, most notably outside hitters Avery Skinner and Khalia Lanier.

Kiraly will maintain part of the 14-player roster he took to Antalya in Brasilia, featuring setter Hancock and Ashley Evans, opposite Danielle Cuttino, outside hitters Skinner and Lanier, middle blockers Brionne Butler and Asjia O’Neal and libero Morgan Hentz.

Making their VNL 2023 debuts in Brazil will be opposite Jordan Thompson, outside hitters Kathryn Plummer and Alexandra Frantti, middle blockers Haleigh Washington and Anna Stevenson and libero Kendall White.

The Americans will play their first match in Brasilia on Tuesday, at 17:30 local time (20:30 UTC), against VNL rookies Croatia, who had a difficult opening week, dropping all their four matches in Nagoya, Japan, without winning a single set.

The Olympic champions will be back on the court on Thursday, at 14:00 local time (17:00 UTC), to face Thailand. The Asians were in Antalya and had a positive opening week, securing two wins and pushing defending champions Italy to five sets in their first matches.

The weekend matches will probably be the ones that will challenge the Americans the most, starting with Saturday’s 17:30 local time (20:30 UTC) duel against Japan. The Japanese had strong displays in their first three matches and only dropped their fourth and last encounter in Nagoya to continental rivals China.

The Chinese were also the only ones to overcome Brazil in the opening week of the VNL. The South Americans, who will face the USA on Sunday, at 10:00 local time (13:00 UTC), in Brasilia, recovered from their five-set loss in their first match with three-straight victories and will have the support of their fans this week. The team will also likely have Olympic medallists Thaisa Menezes, Gabriela 'Gabi' Guimarães, Roberta Ratzke and Rosamaria Montibeller all available for selection in Brasilia.

Other exciting encounters set to happen during the second week of the women’s VNL in Brasilia include the duel between Japan and Serbia, on Tuesday, at 21:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Wednesday), the Asian Derby between Japan and Korea, on Thursday, at 17:30 local time (20:30 UTC), the battle between Brazilians and Serbians, on the same day, at 21:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Wednesday), and the match involving Brazil and Germany, on Saturday, at 14:00 local time (17:00 UTC).

Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results

Simultaneously to the Pool 4 action in Brasilia, the national teams of Bulgaria, Canada, China, the Dominican Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Türkiye will be competing in Pool 3, in Hong Kong.

The VNL Preliminary Phase will feature three weeks of competition, with each of the 16 teams playing 12 matches. The eight best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Final Phase, which will be held in Arlington, the United States, from July 12-16 – host country USA are already guaranteed a spot.

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