U.S. Women field strong at NORCECA Championship

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, October 6, 2019 - The U.S. Women’s National Team, ranked No. 2 in the world, has set its roster for the biennial NORCECA Women’s Continental Championship scheduled for Oct. 8-13 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The NORCECA event crowns the best team from North American, Central America and the Caribbean every two years.

U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly and his staff have selected the same 14 players who just won silver at the FIVB World Cup in Japan a week ago.

 

Outsides (4): Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, Kim Hill, Jordan Larson, Kelsey Robinson. Opposites (2): Annie Drews, Karsta Lowe. Middles (4): Tori Dixon, Chiaka Ogbogu, Hannah Tapp, Haleigh Washington. Setters (2): Lauren Carlini, Jordyn Poulter. Liberos (2): Megan Courtney, Justine Wong-Orantes

The U.S. is grouped in the four-team Pool B. The Americans face Trinidad & Tobago on Oct. 8 at 4 p.m., followed by Mexico on Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. Team USA faces rival Dominican Republic to conclude pool play on Oct. 10 at 6 p.m.

The winner of the four-team pool advances directly to the semifinals on Oct. 12, while the second- and- third-place teams of both Pools A and B compete in the quarterfinals on Oct. 11. The medal-round matches are scheduled for Oct. 13.

Team USA concluded the World Cup with a 10-1 record, its sole loss being to gold-medalist China earlier in the round robin format.

Following its World Cup performance, the Americans are 40-6 in tournament play in 2019, including gold medals in the FIVB Volleyball Nations Leagues (premier annual international competition) and Pan American Cup (North and South America yearly competition). The U.S. also qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games by winning its four-team Tokyo Qualification Tournament pool on home soil in August.

"I think this summer has been really exciting for our team with new and younger faces getting an opportunity to play at a high level," Robinson said. "I think we have a lot of potential and room for growth. We have NORCECA to go back to and I think we can be a great team come 2020.”