United States Sweep Dominican Republic to End VNL Week 1

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, May 19, 2024.- United States ended the first round of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play on a high note with a sweep (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) of the Dominican Republic on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

United States dominated on the attack, leading the Dominican Republic in kills 51-35. The U.S. also led in aces 4-1. The Dominican led in blocks 11-6 and the teams tied in scoring errors 14-14.

Avery Skinner and Chiaka Ogbogu combined for 30 points, with the outside hitter producing 18 and the middle blocker adding another 12. Outside hitter Brayelin Martínez was the Dominican leading scorer with 11 points.

The 7.96 points earned with the sweep helped the United States gain a spot in the World Rankings, moving up to fourth place. The Dominicans remained in ninth place.

Volleyball Nations League 2024: schedule and results

The women will now have a week off in the VNL 2024 before returning to the court from May 28 to June 2. Brazil, the Dominican Republic, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand and hosts China will play in Macau while Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Korea, Poland, Serbia, Türkiye and hosts USA will compete in Arlington.

Next week, the men will start their campaigns with pools in Rio de Janeiro (Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan and Serbia) and Antalya (Bulgaria, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Türkiye and USA).