U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
REACHING OUT: Libero Nicole Davis has stepped into a starting role with fi re and fl are with the U.S. Women’s National Team. (Photo: FIVB)
that owns a top-fi ve world ranking: second-ranked Brazil, fourth-ranked Italy and fi fth-ranked China. Looking ahead to London, that gives the women the confi dence of know- ing that they can – and have – beaten every team in the top fi ve. (En route to the FIVB World Grand Prix gold medal last summer, they defeated Japan twice, both times in three sets.) Only Russia remains a question mark. In 2010 at the
FIVB World Championship, the Russians beat the U.S in a four-set semifi nal and then went on to win the tournament; the U.S. fi nished fourth. Russia was very good at that tourna- ment, say both McCutcheon and Kiraly – but more recently the team has taken a hit from injuries and personnel changes. The Russians didn’t qualify for the World Cup because they were beaten out at the European Championship by Serbia. By not reaching the World Cup, Russia has yet to qualify for the Olympics, which won’t be an easy task considering that Serbia, Germany and Poland are all in the same zone and still seeking an Olympic spot, too. McCutcheon and Kiraly both expect that Russia will qualify, but nobody is quite sure what the makeup of the Russian team will be if it gets to the Olympics. “With Russia, you never know who is going to show up,”
Berg says.
No such mystery surrounds the U.S. By design, the Ameri- can roster remained very similar throughout 2011, and don’t look for much to change in 2012. McCutcheon likes to know who his starters are well in advance of the Olympics, and the same top seven saw most of the action at that World Cup. The U.S. starting lineup at the World Cup included Lindsey Berg (Honolulu), outside hitters Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.), middle blockers Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Foluke Akinradewo (Planta- tion, Fla.), opposite Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) and libero Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.).
Further down on the roster is a talented group of players that have shown they can come in and do the job when need- ed. That’s a nice feeling for coaches and starters alike as the team heads into the most important year of the quadrennial and prepares for the July 28 start date of the indoor Olympic volleyball competition. As Berg points out, it’s more than just seven players. It’s a team.
“Even coming down to our bench, we’ve never had so much depth,” she says. “The people on the bench could just as well be starters. I think this group has something really special.
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