Annie Drews is ready and committed to defend Olympic gold

Andrea Drews is always ready to step up for the United States, just like she did at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when Karch Kiraly, with a short roster, gave her the trust to lead on offense as starting opposite Jordan Thompson was going to miss crucial matches because of an injury.

Drews found herself in a starring role and helped lead her team to its first-ever Olympic gold medal. But the seven-year veteran likewise has no qualms about sharing roles with Thompson, making Team USA an absolute threat from the wings in any competition.

Instead, the 29-year-old acts as a team player and welcomes the responsibilities of playing the pressure-filled role, anytime and anywhere.

• Watch Annie Drews’ CLOSER TO PARIS full interview on VBTV.

From Tokyo 2020 to the road leading to the next Olympic edition in Paris, Drews is keeping her eyes open and is ready and committed to achieving qualification and completing back-to-back gold medal wins. All for the love of her country and the sport.

“I am ready. I am committed. I am excited to do whatever it takes,” Drews said.

“This is a big dream of ours and we are all working to grow the sport in our country and in the world. How ever they need me, I want to be there and be good for them.”

Volleyball World sat down with the left-handed opposite for an interview. She talked about her fifth year at the VNL, where she faced tough opponents Italy, Thailand and Poland – the same teams she will face the Paris Qualifier in Lodz, Poland from September 16-24.

“Thailand are a really unique team and every year surprise people time and time again. They have a really unique style of volleyball, and they play with a lot of joy,” she said.

“Poland have a wonderful setter Asia Wolosz and a really strong opposite (Magdalena) Stysiak. They are a force to reckon with.”

Team USA faced Poland at the VNL preliminary round in Suwon, where they won 3-2. They met again at the bronze medal match in Anaheim but lost in five-set fashion.

Drews knows that it is not an easy task, but she highlighted the importance of hard work in order to reach their goal.

“We’ve proven we are capable of doing it, but we can’t bring the same product to the Paris Qualification or the Paris Games, and then expect the same results. Teams are going to know us, teams are going to prepare for us very well, and we’re seeing the sport grow every year. So it’s going to be challenging no matter what,” she explained.

“We’re ready and able to do it again, but it’s going to take a lot of preparation and we’re going to have to be creative.”

VBTV Originals presents CLOSER TO PARIS, featuring Annie Drews as the first in the slate of exclusive features of the world’s best stars sharing their thoughts and dreams on the road to qualification for the Paris Olympics.

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