U. S . WOMEN’ S NAT I ONA L T E AM
Clear about present danger
The heavily favored U.S. Women’s National Team reserved its slot in the 2016 Olympics by winning the NORCECA event in Nebraska with the players displaying a keen focus instilled by their coach
by Jon Hastings Photos: USAV/Eric Francis
NOT MANY EXPECTED ANY DEVELOP- ment at the Women’s NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 7-9 that would prevent the world’s top-ranked team from confirming a spot at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but members of the U.S Women’s National Team weren’t about to embrace an entitlement strategy.
The players understood their reservation in Rio would not simply be confirmed by “honors points” rewarded them for their super- lative work the last three years, but rather the full-price, blue-collar grind they bring to every match, every set, every point.
The Americans did not warm to the idea that this competition was a mere formality – and that had nothing to do with the fact that it was five degrees outside of Pinnacle Bank Arena when the U.S. players were getting ready for their final and decisive match of the four-team event against a Dominican Republic team missing its best player. On paper, it may have looked like the
New England Patriots in a pool with three really good SEC college football teams, but U.S. players viewed Canada, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic as teams that stood in their way. They might as well have been Brazil, China and Russia. Middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo, who was one of five 2012 Olympians on the 14-player NORCECA roster, was politely incredulous to the question of the possibil- ity of a lack of total team focus for an event without any of the U.S.’s super-power rivals in the field.
After the U.S. Women looked flat in spots in a four-set victory over Puerto Rico on Day 2
Foluke Akinradewo was one of the key veterans on the NORCECA roster that helped the U.S. clinch an Olympic berth.
38 | VOLLEYBALLUSA • Digital Issue at
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