If Week 1 of Volleyball Nations League offered a relatively relaxed start for Team USA, facing No. 6-ranked Japan and challenger teams Bulgaria and Belgium, Week 2 pits the U.S. women against the toughest lineup of competitors it will face all tournament (at least according to current FIVB world rankings). 

Watch the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League LIVE on FloVolleyball

This week’s opponents for USA are all ranked inside the top 10 in the world, with reigning world champion Serbia holding down the No. 1 spot. Add to the lineup 2018 worlds runner-up Italy and Dominican Republic, which opened the 2019 VNL with wins over Russia and Brazil.

Here’s everything you need to know about this week’s trio of matches for Team USA.

Team USA

Despite the increase in opponent strength in Week 2, USA head coach Karch Kiraly is sticking with almost the exact same group of players he utilized in the first week of competition, with just one change to his travel roster.

Mikaela Foecke, who started in two of last week’s matches and came in as a sub in the third, has returned home to the States for her wedding on Saturday. Instead of having a new player join the team in Europe, Kiraly has chosen to tackle this week’s slate of matches with just 13 players.

Foecke’s absence leaves Kiraly with three outside hitters: Madi Kingdon Rishel, Simone Lee, and Sarah Wilhite Parsons. Lee was the only player not to see the court last week, so she should be able to provide fresh legs in the upcoming matches.

U.S. Women's National Team Roster for FIVB Volleyball Nations League Week 2 in Italy

1 – Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Penn State, Edmond, Oklahoma)

2 – Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Illinois, Aurora, Colorado)

9 – Madi Kingdon Rishel (OH, 6-1, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona)

11 – Annie Drews (OPP, 6-4, Purdue, Elkhart, Indiana)

12 – Jordan Thompson (OPP, 6-4, Cincinnati, Edina, Minnesota)

13 – Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Minnesota)

17 – Megan Courtney (L, 6-1, Penn State, Dayton, Ohio)

18 – Mikaela Foecke (OH, 6-3, Nebraska, West Point, Iowa)

19 – Hannah Tapp (M, 6-3, Minnesota, Stewartville, Minnesota)

20 – Dana Rettke (M, 6-8, Wisconsin, Riverside, Illinois)

21 – Simone Lee (OH, 6-1, Penn State, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin)

22 – Haleigh Washington (M, 6-3, Penn State, Colorado Springs, Colorado)

24 – Chiaka Ogbogu (M, 6-2, Texas, Coppell, Texas)

27 – Mary Lake (L, 5-7, BYU, Palm Springs, California)

The Competition

Serbia | Tuesday, May 28, 10 AM CT | Watch Live

The Serbia women’s volleyball team has been one of the top teams in the world since 2015, when it won a silver at the FIVB World Cup. A silver medal at the Rio Olympics, gold at the 2017 European Championships, and gold medal at last year’s World Championships rocketed the Serbians to the top spot in the world.

Twenty-two-year-old lefty opposite Tijana Boskovic, MVP of the 2018 Worlds and Best Spiker of the 2018-19 Turkish Volleyball League, headlines head coach Terzic Zoran’s arsenal of weapons. She led Serbia to a 2-1 record in the first week of play with 40 points (36 kills, one block, three aces), as the Balkan team beat Netherlands and Korea, but lost to Turkey in straight sets.

Other key players for Serbia include middle blocker Mina Popovic, who had five blocks and five aces to go along with 14 kills in the first three matches of Nations League, and outside Brankica Mihajlovic, who collected 18 kills last week.

Middle Stefana Veljkovic played only sparingly in the first week of VNL, but the three-time Olympian is certainly one to watch. Standing 6-3 and touching 10-8, she’s a formidable blocker and just helped Igor Gorgonzola Novara win Champions League gold.

Another fun fact for followers of NCAA volleyball in the States. Marija Popovic, a libero on Serbia’s 25-player roster, currently plays for ETSU and is the two-time defending SoCon Libero of the Year.

Italy | Wednesday, May 29, 1 PM CT | Watch Live

Only three teams went undefeated in the first week of VNL play: USA, Turkey, and Italy. And like the USA, Italy got off to its hot start without many of its veteran stars.

Indre Sorokaite led Italy with 55 points in last week’s wins over Poland, Thailand, and Germany, while 19-year-old Elena Pietrini ranked second on the team with 39 points. Sarah Luisa Fahr, who is just 17, had 29 points on 20 kills, six blocks, and three aces. Setter Ofelia Malinov earned the Best Setter Award at World Champs, and at only 23 will likely be a fixture of Team Italy for years to come.

This Italian team is young, but talented with a surprising amount of experience in spite of its youth. Eight members of the 2016 Olympic squad that finished ninth in Rio have been included on the 2019 VNL roster and 17 of the silver-medal winning squad from the 2018 World Championships. 

Yet to make their debuts in the 2019 VNL are World Champs stars opposite Paola Egonu, outside Miriam Fatime Sylla, and libero Monica De Gennaro. 

Dominican Republic | Thursday, May 30, 10 AM CT | Watch Live

As mentioned above, Dominican Republic had an impressive start to VNL, upsetting No. 4 Brazil and No. 5 Russia, and in doing so is already one win away from matching its win total from the 2018 edition of VNL. 

Going 3-12 in 2018, Dominican finished 14th out of 16 teams, coming dangerously close to being relegated out of the tournament. So far in 2019, the Central American squad has taken advantage of some top-ranked teams that are not yet traveling with their veteran players to score some important wins. 

The Dominican Republic has lots of size up front. Six-foot-seven Brayelin Martinez brings the heat from the right side, collecting 57 kills and five blocks already in the first three matches of the summer, and 6-4 middle Candida Estefany Arias Perez tallied 12 blocks. Bethania de la Cruz is just 6-foot, but she’s second on the team in total points so far (53) and blocks (seven).

Non-USA Match of the Week

Turkey vs. Japan | Tuesday, May 28, 9:30 AM CT | Watch Live

Turkey steamrolled its Week 1 opponents, joining Italy and the USA as the only teams to go 3-0. To start Week 2, Turkey faces a tough Japan squad, which took a set off the USA last week. 

If nothing else, this match will be worth watching to scout out the Turkey team that managed to defeat reigning world champion Serbia in straight sets last week.