Olympic Games | USA wins the bronze

Despite ironies and questions, the Americans finish the Rio Olympics with a 7-1 record and the bronze medal

Olympic Games | No Gold: Serbia upsets USA in semis

Despite extraordinary Karsta Lowe-led comeback, serving errors doom USA; Foluke Akinradewo goes out with injury

Olympic Games | How USA can beat Serbia

The keys to USA getting to the gold medal match

Olympic Games | USA moves into semifinals with 3-0 win against Japan

Kim Hill and Rachael Adams rebound

Olympic Games | USA stays undefeated with 3-1 win over China

Jordan Larson leads the way

Olympic Games | Too close for comfort as USA tops Italy 3-1

Even as USA struggles, it captures top Pool B seed behind Karsta Lowe's inspired performance

Olympic Games | USA qualifies for medal round with resounding win over Serbia

Middles play big thanks to great serving and passing

Olympic Games | USA roars back to beat Netherlands

Americans overcome horrible serving to stay undefeated

Olympic Games | USA wins Olympic opener

Americans overcome unforced errors to defeat Puerto Rico

Olympic Games | Olympic Volleyball on Television

How to find live Olympic volleyball, both televised and streaming, for indoor and beach

Olympic Games | Rio Arena is a “volleyball temple”

For USA’s Courtney Thompson, Maracanãzinho brings her National Team career full circle

Olympic Games | Idolized American

Follow women's Rio Olympics indoor volleyball on Volleyblog Seattle.

Olympic Games | Which USA Olympians had the most collegiate success?

Two-time Olympians Akinradewo and Thompson telegraphed their later success

Court & Spark now available on Amazon and iTunes

Courtney Thompson (3) sets Foluke Akinradewo during a 2014 World Championships victory over Russia
-photo courtesy FIVB

Is there a correlation between success in college volleyball and future Olympic glory?

We took a look at collegiate national honors for all 12 members of USA’s Rio Olympics women’s volleyball roster. We tallied four categories: The Honda Sports Player of the Year (awarded to the nation’s best volleyball player across all collegiate divisions and organizations), the AVCA Player of the Year (for NCAA Division 1, where all the Olympians played), AVCA First-Team All-Americans and NCAA D1 National Championships. What did we find?

• Two players—Stanford’s Foluke Akinradewo and Washington’s Courtney Thompson—took home more collegiate awards than any other current Olympians. Both were Honda Players of the Year, both were 3-time AVCA First Team All-Americans. Akinradewo was the AVCA Player of the Year, but never won an NCAA championship. Thompson’s Huskies won the 2005 title.
• On the other extreme, Kayla Banwarth never won any of these four honors while at Nebraska. Liberos are crucial to the modern game, but still don’t get much respect.
• Megan (Hodge) Easy of Penn State was easily the most honored player of her generation: 2009 Honda Player of the Year, 2009 AVCA Player of the Year, four time First Team AVCA All-American (2006-09) and three time NCAA Champion (2007-2009). Hodge was a member of the 2012 London Olympic roster, but battled injuries late in the Rio quad and was not selected for 2016.
• Nicole Fawcett, also of Penn State, was just a hair behind Easy in national collegiate awards. She was the 2008 Honda and AVCA Player of the Year, a three time First Team AVCA All-American (2006-08) and two time NCAA Champion (2007-2008). Fawcett, an opposite, has been a key member of the National Team for the past two quads. She just missed making either the London or Rio rosters.
• When it’s time to look forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the players with the most national collegiate honors of the next generation of National Team members are Washington’s Krista Vansant, Penn State’s Micha Hancock, Wisconsin’s Lauren Carlini and USC’s Natalie Hagglund.
• So who were the other recent Players of the Year not on the Olympic roster?
  2005: Christiana Houghtelling, Nebraska (AVCA)
  2006: Sarah Pavan, Nebraska (AVCA & Honda) [Pavan is Canadian]
  2010: Blair Brown, Penn State (Honda)
  2011: Alex Jupiter, USC (AVCA & Honda) [Jupiter is French]
  2012: Alaina Bergsma, Oregon (AVCA & Honda)
  2013: Krista Vansant, Washington (AVCA & Honda)
  2014: Krista Vansant, Washington (Honda) & Micha Hancock, Penn St (AVCA)

• Who is the most honored collegian of all time? Stanford’s Logan Tom, a four-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) was Honda POY and AVCA POY in both 2001 and 2002, and a four-time First Team All-American (1999-2002). Stanford won the NCAA title in 2001, and was runner-up in 1999 and 2002.

COURT AND SPARK NOW AVAILABLE IN NEW FORMATS

We’re happy to report that Court & Spark, the one-hour documentary Courtney Thompson, and featuring many of her teammates and coaches, is now available for rent or purchase on both iTunes and Amazon. All proceeds go to Puget Sound Region of USA Volleyball, a nonprofit umbrella for female and male youth, adult, indoor, sand and sitting volleyball. A great gift idea for players who have just completed summer volleyball camp!
starring

Olympic Games | Karch Kiraly says Rio “will be the best volleyball Olympics ever”

USA volleyball head coach says team is “preparing for uncertainty”

Olympic Games | USA Volleyball reveals Rio roster

Courtney Thompson is now a two-time Olympian as Karch Kiraly takes three setters on his roster

National Team | USA women passing less than perfect

USA adds three more World Grand Prix wins, but serve receive a sticking point; Pac-12 schedule is released

National Team | Olympian Courtney Thompson featured in New York Times

Profile of USA setter as she wows Brazilian teammates and fans in Rio

Thompson also featured in Volleyball Magazine story 

Olympics | Courtney Thompson called "such a good leader" as USA qualifies for Rio Olympics

Thompson and teammates surprise a former Washington Olympian 

[UPDATED 5:00PM (Pacific), 01/11/16]

National Team | USA Women’s Volleyball Road to Rio [Part 3]

Which players are in the running for the 12 USA women’s volleyball roster spots for the 2016 Olympic Games? Today: middle blockers

USA middle blocker Christa Dietzen

With decision time for the 2016 Rio Olympic roster roughly a year away, we’re running through the probable Rio roster candidates, and suggesting what each has to do to make the final cut.

Be sure to see our first two entries, Road to Rio (Part 1) and Road to Rio (Part 2), for a discussion of the decision process and a rundown of setters, opposites, outside hitters and liberos. Today’s post will focus on middles, maybe the deepest position in the USA gym.

---

MIDDLE BLOCKERS

2012 London Olympics

• Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, FL, Stanford University)
• Christa (Harmotto) Dietzen (Hopewell, PA, Penn State University
• Danielle Scott-Arruda (Baton Rouge, Long Beach State)

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic candidates

• Akinradewo
• Dietzen
• Tori Dixon (Burnsville, MN, University of Minnesota)
• Lauren Gibbemeyer (St Paul, MN, University of Minnesota)
• Lauren Paolini (Ann Arbor, University of Texas)
• Cursty Jackson (Los Angeles, University of Arizona)
• Rachael Adams (Cincinnati, University of Texas)

Top to bottom, middles may be the strongest position on USA’s roster. Only three will go to Rio, and the battle for the third spot should be something to watch.

Foluke Akinradewo is the complete package: smart, great teammate, tall, quick, strong. Like all middles, her offense depends almost entirely on how well her teammates pass and dig: if her setter has few options, middle is usually not one of them. When she gets a good quick set, boom, it’s over. Like all middles, she can always up her serving game. Alinradewo was the second-best blocker (all countries) at the London Olympics, and has a clear path to the Rio roster.

Christa (Harmotto) Dietzen was also a London starter. She, too, is strong and smart, and is one of the team’s leaders, including captain of the gold medal 2014 World Championship team. She did not play professionally last winter as she recovered from a nagging knee injury. She is, however, on the roster for the final two World Grand Prix rounds, and we can measure her comeback by her performance in the grueling World Cup this August/September in Japan, where the top teams earn the first Olympic qualifying spots.

USA middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo

Tori Dixon and Lauren Gibbemeyer are both former Minnesota middles. This summer, they seem to be going head-to-head for one of the three middle slots in Rio. Dixon packs a wallop, and often muscles jousts to her advantage. Gibbemeyer is high-energy, converting quick sets with a whip arm and leading cheers after every point. Both are solid servers, so it might come down to intangibles. How would each fit the chemistry of the Rio team? Which one best handles defense after the serve? This battle could come down to the wire.

Lauren Paolini and Cursty Jackson are getting long looks this summer. Both are talented, but a trip to Rio could depend on whether there are injuries up the depth chart. Rachael Adams got lots of playing time last summer, but seems stuck among a wealth of talent. Any of these three might be in the mix for 2020.

---

see also: Road to Rio(Part 1) (setters and opposites)

see also: Road to Rio(Part 2) (outsides and liberos)

National Team | USA Women’s Volleyball Road to Rio [Part 2]

Which players are in the running for the 12 USA women’s volleyball roster spots for the 2016 Olympic Games? Today: outsides and liberos

Which 12 American women will be selected next summer for the Rio Olympic Games?
-FIVB

With decision time for the 2016 Rio Olympic roster roughly a year away, we’re running through the probable Rio roster candidates, and suggesting what each has to do to make the final cut.

Be sure to see our first entry, Road to Rio (Part 1), for a discussion of the decision process and a rundown of setters and opposites. Today, we’ll talk about outside hitters and liberos. The next post will focus on middles.

---

OUTSIDE HITTERS

2012 London Olympics

• Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Stanford University)
• Megan (Hodge) Easy (Durham, NE, Penn State University
• Jordan Larson-Burbach (Hooper, NE, University of Nebraska)

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic candidates

• Larson-Burbach
• Easy
• Kim Hill (Portland, OR, Pepperdine University)
• Krista Vansant (Redlands, CA, University of Washington)
• Kelsey Robinson (Bartlett, IL, University of Nebraska)
• Kristin Hildebrand (Orem, UT, Stanford University)
• Cassidy Lichtman (Poway, CA, Stanford University)

We group outside hitters and liberos together for two reasons. First, there are usually five roster spots available to be divided among these two positions—either 3 outsides and 2 liberos, or 4 outsides and 1 libero. Second, outsides and liberos are a team’s primary passers, and close matches against elite opponents can turn on that critically important skill.

Jordan Larson-Burbach’s is the obvious candidate for the top OH spot in Rio. In a recent interview with the Omaha World-Herald, she said she considered quitting the game after London, frustrated, in part, by her playing time in the gold medal match. Since then, she’s been one of the best professional outside hitters in the world, leading teams based in Russia (2013-14) and Turkey (2014-15) to a host of professional tournament championships. On the court, Larson-Burbach is clinical and aggressive. Off the court, she speaks her mind. Like any great outside, she will often be judged by how well she does when poor passing limits her setter’s options. Can she hit high hands? Can she tool the block? Can she drop killer tips? In Rio, the spotlight will likely shine her way.

When USA is in system, Megan (Hodge) Easy is deadly. With great hops and a whip arm, she can lead her team on long runs. But Easy has always had a weakness: passing. At times, the weakness is glaring enough to pull her team into an extended funk. Back from having her first child, she’s been getting plenty of chances from coach Karch Kiraly to learn from mistakes and improve. Her poor passing in the first two rounds of the 2015 World Grand Prix show she still has a ways to go.

USA outside hitter Kim Hill attacks against the Italian defense in the 2015 World Grand Prix
-FIVB

Kim Hill has made a strong push to unseat Easy in the starting lineup. Tall enough to not be intimidated by the block, she continues to make strides as a passer, hitter and blocker. Her serve makes it tough to keep her out of the lineup: a textbook hard, flat, deep float that is usually good for one or more long runs a match. Just today, she recorded 6 aces in a World Grand Prix win over Japan, including 4 in one service rotation. Kiraly likes to run a fast offense, which is sometimes a problem for Hill when passing breaks down and she is the obvious option. Her confidence, however, is growing, and may be ready to peak in Rio.

Krista Vansant is only a few weeks out of college, but she’s already making a splash. At the Pan Am Cup, a secondary tournament in Peru, she was named MVP. In World Grand Prix matches against Russia and Belgium, she and fellow rookie Karsta Lowe (an opposite) provided the firepower. In college, the former AVCA National Player of the Year was as well-respected for her serving and passing as she was for her hitting. She has a shot at Rio, but may need to tone down her enthusiasm when things go well in exchange for learning not to withdraw when things do not.

Kelsey Robinson, who transferred to Nebraska after three years at Tennessee, is unafraid to emote on the court. Her enthusiasm can be either inspiring or grating, but it works best when she’s on her game. She shares many of Vansant’s qualities—good serve, good pass—and has played solidly during the World Grand Prix. If Easy can’t overcome her passing problems, Robinson and Vansant may be battling for the third OH spot in Rio.

Kristin Hildebrand made a deep run in the leadup to London, but couldn’t quite crack the lineup. During her long career, she’s earned teammates’ respect as a leader and a hard worker. She has amazing hops, which make her a formidable attacker and blocker. In a crowded field, she may have to hope Kiraly goes with just one libero in Rio.

Cassidy Lichtman would be the perfect choice if Olympic rosters ever expand from 12 to 14. Lichtman has all the tools—she can hit, set, pass, serve. Problem is, there is always someone else who beats her at any one of those skills. With a roster of 14, she’d be the perfect injury replacement almost anywhere on the court. If she wants to coach someday, she’ll be a good one. Like Hildebrand, she might sneak in if Kiraly takes four outsides.

Other outsides with little more than an outside chance to make the Rio roster include Michelle Bartsch, Sonja Newcombe, Regan Hood and Kelly Reeves.

---

LIBEROS

2012 London Olympics

• Nicole Davis (Stockton, University of Southern California)
• Tama Miyashiro (Kaneohe, HI, University of Washington)

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic candidates

• Davis
• Miyashiro
• Kayla Banwarth (Dubuque, IA, University of Nebraska)

USA libero Tama Miyashiro celebrates a point.
-FIVB

Over the past 12 months, Kayla Banwarth has come into her own. Calm, steady and focused, she has earned the starting libero spot in every major competition, and is likely the leading contender for Rio. She has great eyework, allowing her to get into good positions to avoid the need for flashy digs. Banwarth can also show fire: during a sloppy World Grand Prix stretch against Serbia, she fairly seethed during a timeout, something her teammates had to have noticed. Back on the court, she made several big digs to help USA win that match in five.

Tama Miyashiro spent last summer recovering from injury, but worked her way back up to the World Grand Prix roster this summer. In London, she was the backup libero, which means she spent most of her time getting ready for rare opportunities on the court. Not everyone can accept that kind of role, which might give her a leg up for Rio. Coach Kiraly will have to decide whether to risk taking just one libero to Brazil, but would need a Plan B if there’s an injury. Miyashiro is technically sound and well-loved by teammates—intangibles might make the difference.

Nicole Davis has twice won Olympic silver medals, and would hate to miss a chance to win a gold. For now, Banwarth has passed her in the depth chart, and—like any former starter—might struggle with the prospect of being a substitute in Rio.

One other libero is in the mix: Natalie Hagglund. She’s not yet been on any major-tournament rosters, but could be a contender, especially if injuries are a factor. If not this Olympics, she’d be an early contender for 2020.

---

see also: Road to Rio(Part 1) (setters and opposites)

next post: middle blockers