American stars in preparation for international season
ANAHEIM, California, February 19, 2020 – The USA women’s
national team is wasting no time heading into the 2020
international volleyball season and head coach Karch Kiraly is
already working with six players at the American Sports Centres
in Anaheim, California.
The coach, an Olympic volleyball and beach volleyball champion
during his playing career, currently has opposite Annie Drews,
outside hitter and team captain Jordan Larson and middle
blockers Foluke Akinradewo, Rachael Adams, Hannah Tapp and Tori
Dixon all training at the facility.
Drews is fresh from the best season of her career, one in which
she helped the Americans win gold at the 2019 Volleyball Nations
League, when she was voted the Most Valuable Player of the
Finals in China. At club level, she led JT Marvelous to the
Japanese league title and also took home the MVP award.
Larson and Akinradewo are longtime members of the USA team and
were part of the rosters that won silver at the London 2012
Olympics and bronze at the Rio 2016 Games. Adams was also part
of the campaign in Brazil.
Larson and Dixon have both concluded their club seasons in China
while Akinradewo, who had a baby in November, and Adams aren’t
under contract with any clubs at the moment. Drews and Tapp are
enjoying a break in the Japanese club season, but will both
return to their teams at the end of the month to compete in the
Emperor’s Cup in late March.
The American team has also scheduled joint training sessions
with Japan from March 14-21 in California. As part of the
training camp, the teams will play an exhibition match on March
20 at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, California. The USA
team for that match is likely to be composed mostly of
collegiate players.
In 2020, the Americans will try to win the Volleyball Nations
League for the third consecutive time and will fight for their
fourth-straight Olympic medal after taking silver at both
Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and bronze in Rio 2016. USA are in
Pool B at the Tokyo Olympics and will play against defending
champions China, Russia, Italy, Argentina and Turkey in the
first round of the tournament. |