USA Volleyball on Monday named the 12-player team that will represent the United States this summer at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as its six alternates and coaching and medical personnel. The main squad includes four Olympic returnees and eight making their Games debuts.
Outside hitter Jordan Larson and middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson, silver and bronze medalists at the London and Rio Olympics, respectively, will make their third straight Games, while outside hitters Kim Hill and Kelsey Robinson, also Rio bronze medalists, will make their second.
The eight newcomers are outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, opposites Annie Drews and Jordan Thompson, setters Micha Hancock and Jordyn Poulter, middles Chiaka Ogbogu and Haleigh Washington and libero Justine Wong Orantes.
As of early June the full, 23-member U.S. women’s national team was ranked No. 1 in the world, and it was attempting to win its third straight FIVB Volleyball Nations League title.
1 | Micha Hancock, Setter
Age: 28
Height: 5-11
Birthplace: McAlester, Okla.
Hometown: Edmond, Okla.
College: Penn State '15
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
michahancock | @MdHancock
A national team member since 2016, Hancock won two national titles while at Penn State where she was the 2014 AVCA National Player of the Year and a three-time first-team All-American. She was named MVP and best setter at the 2019 Pan American Cup, repeating the same accolades won at the competition's 2017 edition and helping the U.S. win gold again. Her father Michael boxed professionally in the 1980s, her mother Kelly played basketball at Oklahoma State University and her sister Kelsey played volleyball at Tulsa University. Hancock has played professionally since 2015 in Italy, Puerto Rico and Poland, most recently for Serie A1's Igor Gorgonzola Novara.
2 | Jordyn Poulter, Setter
Age: 23
Height: 6-2
Hometown: Aurora, Colo.
College: Illinois '18
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
jordyn_poulter | @Jordyn_Poulter
A national team member since 2018, Poulter earned USA Volleyball's co-most improved honors in 2019 and was a first-team All-American while at Illinois. She was named best setter at the 2019 NORCECA Continental Championship in Puerto Rico, helping the U.S. get silver. Poulter has played professionally in Italy since 2018, most recently for Serie A1's Unet E-Work Busto Arsizio.
4 | Justine Wong-Orantes, Libero
Age: 25
Height: 5-6
Hometown: Cypress, Calif.
College: Nebraska '16
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
jwongorantes
A national team member since 2016, Wong-Orantes won a national title while at Nebraska where she was a two-time first-team All-American. She was named best digger at the 2019 NORCECA Continental Championship, helping the U.S. earn silver, and also won best libero at the 2019 Pan American Cup, assisting the U.S. win gold. She started playing indoor volleyball when she was 6 years old, won a AAA beach tournament at age 12 and also represented the U.S. in beach volleyball on its youth national team, claiming the 2011 swatch youth world title. Wong-Orantes has played professionally in Germany since 2019, most recently for Bundesliga's VC Wiesbaden.
10 | Jordan Larson, Outside Hitter
Age: 34
Height: 6-2
Birthplace: Fremont, Neb.
Hometown: Hooper, Neb.
College: Nebraska '08
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
gov1007 | @JordanLarson10
A national team member since 2009, Larson is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won silver at the 2012 London Games and bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, and a 2014 world champion. Prior to her 2009 national team debut she won an NCAA national title in 2006 at Nebraska where she was a two-time first-team All-American. She was named USA Volleyball's Indoor Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016, and earned best spiker honors at both the 2017 World Grand Champions Cup and 2016 NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament, helping the U.S. earn bronze and gold, respectively. Additionally, she was best server at the 2013 NORCECA Championship, where the U.S. won gold. At the 2016 Olympics she ranked seventh overall in scoring with 103 points and tied for third in the best spiker category with a .286 hitting efficiency. Larson started playing volleyball at age 12, is from a city with a population of about 800 and has played professionally since 2009 in Puerto Rico, Russia, Turkey and China, most recently for CVL's Shanghai Bright Ubest.
11 | Annie Drews, Opposite
Age: 27
Height: 6-4
Hometown: Elkhart, Ind.
College: Purdue '16
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
adrews04 | @annie_drews
A national team member since 2017, Drews was named by USA Volleyball its Indoor Player of the Year in 2019. That same year she won MVP while leading the U.S. to gold at the Volleyball Nations League, and best-opposite honors at the World Cup, where the Americans earned silver. Her brother Derek played basketball at Western Michigan. Drews has played professionally since 2016 in Puerto Rico, Italy, Turkey and Japan, most recently for V.League's JT Marvelous.
12 | Jordan Thompson, Opposite
Age: 24
Height: 6-4
Hometown: Edina, Minn.
College: Cincinnati '19
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
jtomm19 | @jtomm19
A national team member since 2019, Thompson while at Cincinnati was the 2019 Player of the Year, a first-team All-American and broke NCAA records in kills per set with 6.27 – tallying a school-record 827 kills during the 2018 season – and rally-scoring with 50 kills in a 2019 match against Connecticut. She helped the U.S. win gold at the Tokyo Qualification Tournament in 2019. Her father Tyrone played for the Harlem Globetrotters Thompson has played professionally since 2019 in Turkey, most recently for Eczacibasi VitrA of the Turkish Women's Volleyball League.
14 | Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Outside Hitter
Age: 31
Height: 6-3
Hometown: Champaign, Ill.
College: Illinois '12
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
bartschhackley14 | @bartschy
A national team member since 2015, Bartsch-Hackley was named by USA Volleyball its most improved member in 2017. She earned MVP honors at the 2018 Volleyball Nations League, helping the U.S. win gold. Her parents Julie and Michael were both student-athletes in college – Julie played volleyball at Kansas, and Michael, a 26-year U.S. Navy veteran, played soccer at Blackburn College. Her brother Andrew threw in track and field for UC Davis and Wisconsin. Bartsch-Hackley has played professionally since 2012 in Puerto Rico, Germany, Italy, China and Turkey, most recently for Turkish Women's Volleyball League's VakıfBank S.K. She was an alternate for Rio.
15 | Kim Hill, Outside Hitter
Age: 31
Height: 6-4
Birthplace: Portland, Ore.
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
College: Pepperdine '12
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
kimjayehill
A national team member since 2013 after making the team via an open tryout, Hill is an Olympic medalist, having won bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, and a 2014 world champion. She was named by USA Volleyball its most improved member in 2014 and earned first-team All-American honors in both indoor and beach while at Pepperdine, the first and only to do so during the same academic year. Her accolades include MVP honors as part of USA's 2014 world title and best spiker of the 2019 NORCECA Continental Championship, at which the U.S. earned silver. Hill has played professionally since 2013 in Poland, Italy and Turkey, most recently for Serie A1's Imoco Volley.
16 | Foluke Akinradewo Gunderson, Middle Blocker
Age: 33
Height: 6-3
Birthplace: London, Ontario, Canada
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
College: Stanford '09
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
folukea | @fakinradewo
A national team member since 2005, Gunderson is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won silver at the 2012 London Games and bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, and a 2014 world champion. She was a three-time first-team All-American while at Stanford, named by USA Volleyball its Co-Player of the Year in 2018 and earned both MVP and best-blocker honors at the 2010 World Grand Prix. Her son was born in 2019 and she in addition to the U.S. holds tri-citizenship in Canada and Nigeria. Gunderson has played professionally since 2010 in Japan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Switzerland, most recently for V.League's Hisamitsu Springs.
22 | Haleigh Washington, Middle
Age: 25
Height: 6-3
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo.
College: Penn State '17
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
hales__storm | @Hales__Yeah
A national team member since 2018, Washington won a national title in 2014 while at Penn State, where she was a three-time first-team All-American. She was named best blocker at the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, helping the U.S. win gold. Washington has played professionally since 2018 in Italy, most recently for Serie A1's Igor Gorgonzola Novara with teammate Micha Hancock.
23 | Kelsey Robinson, Outside Hitter
Age: 28
Height: 6-2
Birthplace: Elmhurst, Ill.
Hometown: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
College: Nebraska '14
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
Krobin32 | @Krobin32
A national team member since 2014, Robinson is an Olympic medalist, having won bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, and a 2014 world champion. In college she played three years at Tennessee before transferring to Nebraska and earning first-team All-American status. She was named best outside hitter and best receiver during the 2019 World Cup, helping the U.S. earn silver, and also collected best-receiver honors at the 2016 NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament. In Rio she scored 30 points despite not starting any of Team USA's eight matches. She started playing indoor club volleyball at age 10. Robinson has played professionally since 2014 in China, Puerto Rico, Italy and Turkey, most recently for Fenerbahce of the Turkish Women's Volleyball League.
24 | Chiaka Ogbogu, Middle
Age: 26
Height: 6-2
Birthplace:
Hometown: Coppell, Texas
College: Texas '18
USAV Bio | Team USA Bio
chiaka11 | @ChiakaOgbogu
A national team member since 2018, Ogbogu left her alma mater Texas as a three-time first-team All-American and school record-holder in blocks and block assists. She has a 10-foot, 5-inch spike touch and led the U.S. in hitting efficiency (.463) and kill percent (56%) during the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, helping the gold medal-winning effort. Ogbogu has played professionally since 2017 in Italy, Poland and Turkey, most recently for Turkish Women's Volleyball League's VakıfBank S.K. with teammate Michelle Bartsch-Hackley.
Alternates
- Kathryn Plummer (#3, OH, Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
- Tori Dixon (#6, M, Burnsville, Minn.)
- Lauren Carlini (#7, S, Aurora, Ill.)
- Hannah Tapp (#8, M, Stewartville, Minn.)
- Sarah Wilhite Parsons (#13, OH, Eden Prairie, Minn.)
- Megan Courtney (#17, L, Dayton, Ohio)
Coaches
- Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
- Asst. Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Luka Slabe
- Performance Analyst: Jeff Liu
- Sport Physiologist & Team Leader: Jimmy Stitz
- Physical Therapist & ATC: Kara Kessans
- Consultant Coaches: Sue Enquist, Marv Dunphy
- Team Doctor: Dr. Chris Lee
- Second Scout: Justin Chang