Inside VolleyCountry

What happened to the rule of having at least 6 (I think it was 6) players from the last OGs?
I only see 3 American players that played in Rio 2016: Kelly Murphy, Carli Lloyd and now I forgot the other one

USA has a long road ahead of them. Alisha Glass is retired. Hope Lloyd can fill in her shoes and be able to play fast tempo attack like Glass. And, hopefully her connection with USA main scorer, Akinradewo, can be established better.

Karsta Lowe also retired. Meh, don't really care about her though. I don't understand why Kiraly insisted on pushing her as main starter while she has been underperforming all through her seasons. Even Fawcett is 10000x better option. (Well, if Hooker is on the team, that is a whole different story).

I read too that 6 players from the year before had to be on the roster but I don't know if that was right or not. I'm sure the other players will be added after they get a rest.

I stopped reading other volleyball sites from The US because they couldn't stop talking about Hooker. Please, please Inside VolleyCountry posters please let's move passed her and move on to the future.

Like other countries, the USA is in a transitional period of new players being introduced to professional leagues and the national team. There will be growing pains, but will be exciting to watch. There have been a number of good young NT players who played for just a year or two who decided to call it quits and to move on. That does hurt. But good for them.

Since the US girls play at different colleges it's not like Brazilian or European girls who grew up playing at varies club levels with each other as they move up the ladder.

The next four years? Time will tell.

Players to watch out this coming quad are:

Rahmat Alhassan is a very good blocker with incredible height reach. She reminds me of Christa Harmatto's blocking ability... she is just more imposing. Slide attack is one area that she needs to improve but her A and B quicks are super good.

Inky Ajanaku is pretty much like Foluke, incidentally they are both from Stanford University. Currently injured and hopefully she will see action in Grand Champions Cup. She has incredible offense both in slide and quick attacks. I gotta say that she is a better blocker than Foluke hopefully it will translate in the international scene. Her downside is her health, she has been injured several times.



Lauren Carlini will be the main setter for this quad. She's the most ready player of all recent NCAA graduates. She has good blocking skill and can play the fast offense that Karch is asking. I can see her beating Lloyd as the starter as the latter is perfect for double sub.

Justine Wong-Orantes is not the most prolific libero in the NCAA history but her dedication and focus will carry her and get that starting position. I believe that her passing will be the key to USA's success. She reminds me of Kayla Banwarth, not the most decorated but eventually came out on top.


Liz Mchammon is a prototype opposite hitter -- tall and physical at 6'6". She was great in Korea and Germany but will she survive higher level leagues? Only time can tell. Her attacking style is within the likes of Boskovic, Pavan, Brakocevic, etc. who play with high balls. With her playing style, I'm not sure if she can adapt to the offense speed of USA but I'm hoping for her success.

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Lauren Carlini will be the main setter for this quad.

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Liz Mchammon is a prototype opposite hitter -- tall and physical at 6'6". She was great in Korea and Germany but will she survive higher level leagues? Only time can tell. Her attacking style is within the likes of Boskovic, Pavan, Brakocevic, etc. who play with high balls. With her playing style, I'm not sure if she can adapt to the offense speed of USA but I'm hoping for her success.

Carlini won`t be the main setter of this quad, Carly Loyd will the be main setter and she has been named the captain already. Things could change down on the road.

Liz Mchammon is already 24 years old, she`s there simply because there`s no other options, but Murphy will likely be the main OPP again, and Faucett could even end up coming back for the World Championship. Or they could simply use Hill as OPP.

And yeah she`s 6'6, but to even compare her with Boskovic is a joke .... Her attacking style is not even 10000 miles close to what Boskovic, Pavan and Brakocevic does.
She`s super slow, just like Diouf for example.

Quoted from "rbdfabio"

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Lauren Carlini will be the main setter for this quad.

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Liz Mchammon is a prototype opposite hitter -- tall and physical at 6'6". She was great in Korea and Germany but will she survive higher level leagues? Only time can tell. Her attacking style is within the likes of Boskovic, Pavan, Brakocevic, etc. who play with high balls. With her playing style, I'm not sure if she can adapt to the offense speed of USA but I'm hoping for her success.

Carlini won`t be the main setter of this quad, Carly Loyd will the be main setter and she has been named the captain already. Things could change down on the road.

Liz Mchammon is already 24 years old, she`s there simply because there`s no other options, but Murphy will likely be the main OPP again, and Faucett could even end up coming back for the World Championship. Or they could simply use Hill as OPP.

And yeah she`s 6'6, but to even compare her with Boskovic is a joke .... Her attacking style is not even 10000 miles close to what Boskovic, Pavan and Brakocevic does.
She`s super slow, just like Diouf for example.

I didn't say Liz is on the same level as those great players. I'm talking about her preferred attacking style which is high ball.

Carlini will get that starting position. Maybe not this year but definitely within this quad. Being a captain doesn't mean you will start case in point Dietzen and Jennifer Joines.

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Players to watch out this coming quad are:

Rahmat Alhassan is a very good blocker with incredible height reach. She reminds me of Christa Harmatto's blocking ability... she is just more imposing. Slide attack is one area that she needs to improve but her A and B quicks are super good.

Inky Ajanaku is pretty much like Foluke, incidentally they are both from Stanford University. Currently injured and hopefully she will see action in Grand Champions Cup. She has incredible offense both in slide and quick attacks. I gotta say that she is a better blocker than Foluke hopefully it will translate in the international scene. Her downside is her health, she has been injured several times.



Lauren Carlini will be the main setter for this quad. She's the most ready player of all recent NCAA graduates. She has good blocking skill and can play the fast offense that Karch is asking. I can see her beating Lloyd as the starter as the latter is perfect for double sub.

Justine Wong-Orantes is not the most prolific libero in the NCAA history but her dedication and focus will carry her and get that starting position. I believe that her passing will be the key to USA's success. She reminds me of Kayla Banwarth, not the most decorated but eventually came out on top.


Liz Mchammon is a prototype opposite hitter -- tall and physical at 6'6". She was great in Korea and Germany but will she survive higher level leagues? Only time can tell. Her attacking style is within the likes of Boskovic, Pavan, Brakocevic, etc. who play with high balls. With her playing style, I'm not sure if she can adapt to the offense speed of USA but I'm hoping for her success.

Seems like everything is over-estimated.

Quoted from "akitoakie"

Quoted from "Mapuan"

Players to watch out this coming quad are:

Rahmat Alhassan is a very good blocker with incredible height reach. She reminds me of Christa Harmatto's blocking ability... she is just more imposing. Slide attack is one area that she needs to improve but her A and B quicks are super good.

Inky Ajanaku is pretty much like Foluke, incidentally they are both from Stanford University. Currently injured and hopefully she will see action in Grand Champions Cup. She has incredible offense both in slide and quick attacks. I gotta say that she is a better blocker than Foluke hopefully it will translate in the international scene. Her downside is her health, she has been injured several times.



Lauren Carlini will be the main setter for this quad. She's the most ready player of all recent NCAA graduates. She has good blocking skill and can play the fast offense that Karch is asking. I can see her beating Lloyd as the starter as the latter is perfect for double sub.

Justine Wong-Orantes is not the most prolific libero in the NCAA history but her dedication and focus will carry her and get that starting position. I believe that her passing will be the key to USA's success. She reminds me of Kayla Banwarth, not the most decorated but eventually came out on top.


Liz Mchammon is a prototype opposite hitter -- tall and physical at 6'6". She was great in Korea and Germany but will she survive higher level leagues? Only time can tell. Her attacking style is within the likes of Boskovic, Pavan, Brakocevic, etc. who play with high balls. With her playing style, I'm not sure if she can adapt to the offense speed of USA but I'm hoping for her success.

Seems like everything is over-estimated.

It's just me being a fan

Quoted from "Maxwell"

I read too that 6 players from the year before had to be on the roster but I don't know if that was right or not. I'm sure the other players will be added after they get a rest.

Other players can't be added to the Grand Prix wide list as it is already official on their website...but maybe the rule does not exist anymore. I remember some years ago Russia was even punished for not using players from the previous year.

Quoted from "Sidney"

Quoted from "Maxwell"

I read too that 6 players from the year before had to be on the roster but I don't know if that was right or not. I'm sure the other players will be added after they get a rest.

Other players can't be added to the Grand Prix wide list as it is already official on their website...but maybe the rule does not exist anymore. I remember some years ago Russia was even punished for not using players from the previous year.

that's true. we can only expect their return in the World Championship next year.
as long as I know, Kim Hill and Jordan Larson and Kelsey Robinson will return to NT. unfortunately Karsta Lowe retired at such a young age....

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Fe…tches-vs-Brazil

No Murphy, as she's taking a break.. Also no Robinson, and her name is not even mentioned.. I thought she was in the gym earlier this summer.. Larson, Akinradewo, Hill, Adams are all back

According to the article written by Robinson for Volleyballmag.com she will not be participating because of a conflict with her sister's wedding. Prettys sure Karch knew about this awhile ago. Robinson trained all summer in Anaheim (still there) during the week and on weekends you could probably find her playing beach vb.

https://volleyballmag.com/kelsey-082317/

Murphy is finishing her last semester of college at the University of Florida per her insta posts.

It's weird that Robinson won't play the friendly matches. I'm pretty sure she is on the videos that the USAVBall has been uploading on instagram

Megan Courtney is now a libero.

You guys ! I was in Anaheim this weekend when I bumped into Larson ,and had the opportunity to speak with Her for almost 3-4 minutes while she was on her way to the arena for the match last Sunday! I have to stay I got a little nervous but her kindness and humbleness really made a big impression on me .

I was able to watch the game ( in person) and all USA girls looked so fit and in a very good shape. Drews is a beauty and looks very tall! She moves really fast all over the court and her approaching to the net is quite something ( very fast too). She hits hard and has a very good technique at blocking ( her height helps a lot I guess ) . Also ,she speaks a lot when the ball comes over the USA side so is very comunicative.
Courtney did a great job on passing , not that much in defense although all USA needs right now is a good pass to keep their game In system. Watching the USA playing is simply spectacular. Their speedness and precision is amazing and Lloyds connection with middle blockers ( Adams and foluke ) was very on point for the short time the have been training together .

On Brazil' side , they couldn't pass a decent ball. It's true , they looked tired ( guess due to the jet lag , cause they got there the night before ) , but still they didn't show anything out of this world . I know they can do better but from what I saw , I really don't know how that team won the last WGP.

For the records I'm not an specialist in volleyball , but a big g fan of the game and these were my impressions ...

Quoted from "nnnneil0929"

Megan Courtney is now a libero.

She also played 2 games as libero in Impel Wrocław last season

I couldn't be happier that Lloyd is slowly settling down as main setter of team USA after the Olympic Games last year. She may not be as good as Glass or Berg from her golden days but it's always a pleasure to watch her play, not only her sets but also her amazing defense and blocking for a setter

I love both Kingdon and Courtney, they can be really important players for USA for the upcoming years as both are quite well balanced, in particular Kingdon can hit really well when given a great ball from her setter. Courtney definitely outta develop her attack, so far she's more like a second libero, thus I'm not terribly surprised she was asked to play libero. US is absolutely gifted for MB position but also OH position in consideration of the fact that plenty of teams worldwide lack of good OHs and the US already has got more than four, at least I can immediately come up with.

So tonight Brazil and the US will play the 2nd friendly match (the first one was 3x0 to the US, and Brazil won the bonus set).
Rachel Adams said on her instagram that NBC sports will broadcast the match tonight (there was no streaming or tv broadcast on Sunday). Does anyone have a link for NBC sports?!

Kim Glass (ex-NT player) will take part in reality tv show 'The Challenge'.

Destinee Hooker is still showing that She is the best opp that USA NT has.