ARLINGTON, Texas, May 28, 2024.- Playing in front of the home fans in Arlington, United States opened the second round of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20) victory over Canada on Tuesday night.
The United States (3-2) will return to the court to face Bulgaria (0-4) on Friday, May 31, at 6 p.m. PT/8 p.m. CT.
Canada, which is fighting for a berth at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris based on its world ranking, fell to 3-2. The next match for Canada is Germany on May 30 at 17:00 Eastern time (16:00 local time in Arlington, Texas).
Volleyball Nations League 2024: schedule and results
Outside hitter Kathryn Plummer made her 2024 VNL debut and scored a team-high 16 points on 14 kills and two blocks. Outside hitter Jordan Larson (12 points, two blocks, one ace) and opposite Jordan Thompson (13 kills, one block, one ace) each contributed 15 points.
Middle blockers Dana Rettke and Asjia O’Neal, who were both making their 2024 VNL debuts, had a combined 17 points and five blocks, each finishing with six kills. Rettke posted a team-high three blocks.
“We had our hands full tonight (with Canada),” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “This was only really day 4 for us together because we had a lot of people finish late in the pro season in Europe… It’s going to be rough and it’s not always going to look pretty, but that’s OK.”
Canada finished with a 59-52 advantage in kills, but the U.S. made only 11 errors in the match, while Canada totaled 33.
Outside hitter Alexa Gray led all scorers with 20 kills and 23 points, while teammate Kiera Van Ryk totaled 17 kills and 20 points. Emily Maglio was also solid for Canada in the middle with eight attack points and three blocks.
“It’s tough to beat a top team in the world when you make 33 errors,” explains Canada’s head coach, Shannon Winzer. “We have a few things we need to clean up, but we also continue to do a lot right, and we are still in a good position for a strong round. Going into our next game against Germany we want to go back to controlling the ‘controllables’ and being patient in attack. Our subs continue to do a great job for us and our whole team is willing to do whatever is needed to get the job done.”
English 
Spanish