U.S. Women Finish 4th at VNL Finals in Arlington
 

ARLINGTON, Texas, July 16, 2023.- The U.S. Women’s National Team finished the 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in fourth place after falling to Poland on Sunday, 3-2 (25-15, 16-25, 25-19, 18-25, 17-15) at College Park Center.

The U.S. Women, the defending Olympic champions, finished VNL with an 11-4 record. The team will compete next at the NORCECA Continental Championship on Aug. 28-Sept. 3 in Canada.

Less than 16 hours after battling Türkiye in the semifinals and just missing a chance at a fifth set, the U.S. Women struggled in the first set against Poland.

U.S. Women’s Head Coach Karch Kiraly started a completely different lineup in the second set, except for libero Justine Wong-Orantes, and the team seemed to find the spark it needed. But the success didn’t last and Kiraly continued to adjust the lineup, eventually putting every player on the court at some point.

In the fifth set, the U.S. Women trailed 9-6 before tying the score at 11-11. The U.S. held match point at 14-13 and 15-14 but could not convert.

“We’re proud that our team emptied the tank, and we tried every possible answer and came close,” Kiraly said. “But this is a bitter disappointment, and we need to use this to get better for our next tournament, for the Olympic qualifier and for next year.”

Poland led the U.S. in kills (63-50) and aces (7-5). The U.S. Women led in blocks (14-11) and scored 30 points on Poland errors while committing 20.

Setter Lauren Carlini saw her first action of the final round, starting sets 2-5. She scored three points on two kills and a block.

“I thought the comeback in the fifth was great. We had match point,” Carlini said. “That’s something we’re going to work on over this next training block is executing when it matters.”

Outside hitter Avery Skinner, a Texas native who played collegiately at Baylor, started sets 2-5 and led the team in scoring with 18 points on 15 kills and three blocks. She was also credited with five digs.

Opposite Annie Drews, who started the first, fourth and fifth sets, scored 10 points on nine kills and one block.