Three Former Huskers Chosen for VNL Finals Roster

The U.S. Women's Volleyball National Team announced its final 14-player roster for the FIVB Volleyball Nations League Finals Round, which takes place July 3-7 in Nanjing, China. Three former Huskers - Mikaela Foecke, Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson - made the final roster as outside hitters.

The United States, ranked third in the world, advanced to the Finals Round of six countries with a 12-3 record and 35 points through the five-week preliminary phase, matching top-seed China who had a better set ratio to claim the top spot. Brazil, Italy and Turkey all finished with 11-4 records and earned seeds three through five, respectively. The top five teams all finished within one match win of each other. Poland gained the final spot into the Finals with a 9-6 record.

Nebraska is the most represented school on the roster with three former players. In fact, 11 of the 14 players on the U.S. roster played college volleyball in the Big Ten. 

“I think the VNL is the toughest tournament in volleyball,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “The 16 best teams in the world, we play each of them once, three teams in one week for five weeks in five countries. It is incredibly challenging for the teams that survived that. The final six obviously showed that they have some resilience and some depth. I think it was a wonderful challenge for all the teams. It is a really gnarly tournament.”

Based on preliminary round rankings, the U.S. has been grouped into Pool B with Brazil and Poland. Team USA opens the Finals Round on July 3 versus Poland, followed by Brazil on July 5. Both matches have first serve at 2 a.m. CT. The VNL semifinals are on July 6 and followed by the medal round on July 7. All USA matches in the VNL can be streamed through flovolleyball.tv. The USA-Poland match will air on the Olympic Channel at 7 p.m. CT on July 4, while the gold-medal match will air live on the Olympic Channel on July 7 at 6:30 a.m. CT.

U.S. Women's National Team Roster for FIVB Volleyball Nations League Finals Round – Nanjing, China
# - Player (Position, Height, College, Hometown)
2 – Jordyn Poulter (S, 6-2, Illinois, Aurora, Colorado)
6 – Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Minnesota, Burnsville, Minnesota)
7 – Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Wisconsin, Aurora, Illinois)
10 – Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Nebraska, Hooper, Nebraska)
11 – Annie Drews (OPP, 6-4, Purdue, Elkhart, Indiana)
12 – Jordan Thompson (OPP, 6-4, Cincinnati, Edina, Minnesota)
14 – Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Illinois, Champaign, Illinois)
17 – Megan Courtney (L, 6-1, Penn State, Dayton, Ohio)
18 – Mikaela Foecke (OH, 6-3, Nebraska, West Point, Iowa)
20 – Dana Rettke (M, 6-8, Wisconsin, Riverside, Illinois)
22 – Haleigh Washington (M, 6-3, Penn State, Colorado Springs, Colorado)
23 – Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Nebraska, Manhattan Beach, California)
24 – Chiaka Ogbogu (M, 6-2, Texas, Coppell, Texas)
27 – Mary Lake (L, 5-7, BYU, Palm Springs, California)

Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Luka Slabe, Tama Miyashiro, Erin Virtue
Technical Coordinator: Jeff Liu