Chiaka Ogbogu of Coppell, Texas, and Santa Cruz’s Kelsey Robinson Cook shined on defense, and Team USA’s women’s volleyball team earned a dramatic 25-17, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25. 17-15 victory over reigning world champion Serbia in the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
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Ogbogu, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker, recorded eight of the team’s 19 blocks in the match and totaled 14 points with six kills in her 11 attacks. Robinson Cook, a 6-2 outside hitter, whose husband, Brian, shined at Soquel High and Stanford University, added five digs, three as she steadied the defense in the fifth set.
“Good teams make good plays and it took Serbia a while to make some,” U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “Then they really started pouring it on in the third and fourth sets. We can’t be surprised by that, just like they can’t be surprised when we make a bunch of good plays in the first two sets. Then it became a closer, more fierce battle with both teams making good plays in the fifth set.”
Santa Cruz’s Kelsey Robinson Cook recorded three of her five digs in the decisive fifth set as Team USA beat Serbia in women’s volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Wednesday. (Brian Cassella – Chicago Tribune)
The U.S., which has earned three points in the standings by splitting two five-set matches and is likely to advance to the quarterfinals, can clinch that spot with a win over host France on Sunday at 4 a.m.
The U.S. finished with five more blocks, while trailing in kills (63-56) and service aces (6-3). The U.S. benefitted from 23 Serbian errors, most of which came in the first two sets.
Serbia scored one more point in the match (102-101). The first two U.S. matches have been separated by one point. In the U.S. five-set loss to China on Monday, both teams score 102 points.
Opposite Tijana Boškovic of Serbia scored 31 points on 27 kills, two blocks and two aces.
Libero Justine Wong-Orantes continued her sterling Olympic play with a double-double consisting of match-high 11 digs, including three crucial digs in the fifth set, and 10 successful receptions. Setter Jordyn Poulter ran the U.S. offense and also contributed eight digs.
Opposite Annie Drews led the team with 16 points on 15 kills and a block. Drews registered the team’s first two points in the deciding set and her kills gave the U.S. 15-14 and 16-15 leads. Outside hitter Avery Skinner totaled 13 points with 11 kills and two blocks.
Three more U.S. players reached double digits as opposite Jordan Thompson (10 kills and a huge block in the fifth set) and outside hitter Kathryn Plummer (nine kills and two blocks) each scored 11 points. Middle blocker Haleigh Washington also scored in double figures with 10 points on five kills, four blocks and an ace. Plummer totaled 16 successful receptions with Skinner adding 14.
“We knew this was going to be an intense match. Serbia is always a strong opponent. We knew they were going to push back, and they did,” Washington stated. “We just had to keep believing. It wasn’t a matter of changing this or adjusting that. It was just a matter of weathering the storm and repeating to ourselves, ‘Yes, we can. We have this.’ “
When asked about rebounding after the tough five-set loss to China to open the Olympics, Washington shared, “One our mantras is being where our feet are. Yes, that loss was heartbreaking, but we took it as an opportunity to learn and get better. Yesterday was about recovery. Today was about Serbia and tonight will be about recovery. We just keep doing that one day at a time and being present.”
USAvolleyball.org contributed to this report.