No Days Off: USA's A-Team Will Close Out Preliminary Rounds In Santa Fe

A near flawless U.S. Women's National Team will look to use the final pool of the preliminary rounds to tune up for the VNL Final Round.

Jun 11, 2018 by Kolby Paxton

No Days Off: USA's A-Team Will Close Out Preliminary Rounds In Santa Fe

By Megan Kaplon

Maybe it is the disappointment of the semifinal loss to Serbia in the Rio Olympics that kept Team USA out of the gold medal match. Or perhaps it’s the lingering memory of how good it felt to win the World Championship in 2014.

Whatever it is, something is driving the U.S. Women’s National Team to perform almost flawlessly at Volleyball Nations League. The team has not lost in more than three weeks, and during that streak of 10 consecutive wins, the U.S. women have let only one set slip away.

This week marks the final pool of the preliminary rounds, and thanks to an 11-1 record and 34 total points, the Americans are guaranteed a spot in the Final Round.

With the knowledge they’re definitely moving on to play for the gold in Nanjing, China, the U.S. women compete in Santa Fe, Argentina, this week for a favorable seed, as they take on world No. 3 Serbia, No. 10 Korea, and No. 11 Argentina.

They need just two wins in their last three preliminary round matches to earn the top seed in the final round.

Here’s what to expect from this week’s matches.

Team USA

After moving Kelsey Robinson from outside hitter to libero during the first week of the tournament, head coach Karch Kiraly has made very few changes to his roster. The use of nine different starting lineups has in no prevented the team from performing consistently—and has further showcased its depth.

This week, the group of 14 players suiting up for Team USA remains the same as it has since the second week of competition. Although some other teams have decided to rest their top players, Kiraly will continue to work with his A team to perfect their system and prepare for the Final Round.

The Competition

Serbia | Tuesday, June 12, 3:40 PM CT

With a 9-3 record, Serbia currently ranks third in the Nations League standings and, on paper, should be the toughest opponent for the Americans this week, largely thanks to the offensive power of 21-year-old Tijana Boškovic. The 6-4 lefty opposite made her debut on the Serbian senior national team at the 2014 FIVB World Championship, where she led the team in scoring, despite being only 17 at the time.

So far in the Nations League, Boškovic has contributed 206 kills, 22 blocks, and eight aces to the Serbians’ 9-3 record, which ranks them third in the standings with 28 total points. Outside hitter Brankica Mihajlović and setter Ana Antonijević are also key players.

That said, rumors have been flying that Serbia will rest its top players this week, so some less seasoned Serbian players will have to step up.

Serbia has been very successful on the international stage in the past few years, winning a silver medal at the 2015 FIVB World Cup, silver at the 2016 Olympics (during which it knocked off the United States in the semifinals), gold at the 2017 European Championship, and bronze at the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix.

Serbia and the United States last met in the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix Final Round, with Serbia winning in five sets. In fact, in the past five years, the two teams have been exceedingly well-matched, with the series sitting at an even 4-4 since 2013.

Korea | Wednesday, June 13, 3:40 PM CT

Although never dominant, Korea has always been a steady presence in international women’s volleyball, competing in all but two Olympic Games since the IOC added indoor volleyball in 1964. In 2012, Korea even made the medal round, losing to Japan in the bronze medal match.

Yeon Koung Kim has contributed a team-high 175 points to lead Korea to 5-7 record and 12th-place spot in the standings thus far in Nations League. A long-time star player for Korea, Kim first joined the national team in 2005. She was named MVP and Best Scorer at the 2012 London Olympics and Best Outside Spiker at the 2017 Asian Championship.

Although they’ve lost more than they’ve won so far in the Nations League tournament, the Koreans have shown promise, especially in a sweep of world No. 1 China, the first victory for Korea over China since 2010.

However, Korea may also have decided to leave some of its top players, including Kim, behind, as it journeys halfway across the world to Santa Fe. Serbia is sending a B team in hopes of resting up its top players for the Final Round, but for Korea, it’s more likely because it has almost no chance of making the Final Round, and therefore is not worth the risk of injury to its stars.

Argentina | Thursday, June 14, 6:40 PM CT

Argentina has struggled mightily so far in the VNL. Not only has the team lost every match since the start of the tournament, but it has only managed to win two sets in 12 matches and is dead last in the standings with zero points.

A young team with an average age of 23, Argentina relies heavily on 19-year-old Anahi Florencia Tosi and 22-year-old Antonela Fortuna, a pair of outside hitters who lead the team with 86 and 79 total points, respectively.

The Argentinians qualified for their first-ever Olympics in 2016, but they will likely pose little threat to the United States in both teams’ final match of the VNL preliminary rounds.