The United States women’s indoor volleyball team is getting its final pre-Olympics tuneup in Long Beach this week, hosting the Netherlands at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid for a trio of matches. In Wednesday’s USA Volleyball Cup opener, the Americans came back from down 2-1 to win a five-set thriller, 22-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-10, 15-12.
The two teams will face each other again Friday at Sunday at 7pm, with tickets available through LongBeachState’s website.
“There were definitely some nerves and little kinks that we have to work through,” said USA opposite hitter Jordan Thompson, who helped key the Americans’ comeback. “I thought we stayed really steady and battled back and continued to not give up. In the end that’s what helpful, and winning in five is awesome.”
When the starting lineups were being led, no player got a louder cheer than USA libero Justine Wong-Orantes, who is an adopted local girl. Wong-Orantes grew up nearby in Cypress and played at Los Al High, and won a national championship as a club player leading Long Beach Mizuno. Wong-Orantes also served as a volunteer coach at Long Beach State for a season after her playing career at Nebraska was over.
“I live 10 minutes away and I feel like I grew up honestly coming to the Pyramid and watching Misty, Alexis Crimes, all the big name Long Beach girls,” said Wong-Orantes. “Honestly, I feel like this is a second home to me. So when we have the chance to play in the Pyramid, I’m so stoked about it. It’s really just a special time.”
The Americans fell behind 2-1 before blowing the doors off the fourth set in a 25-10 win that got the crowd going and put the momentum in a red, white, and blue jersey. Team USA hit .500 in the frame to force a fifth set.
They fell behind 3-1 in the fifth before going on a 4-1 run that included a pair of kills by Thompson. They fell behind again 11-10 on a ball into the antenna but a thunderous kill by Lauren Carlini on an overpass gave them the lead at 12-11, then a big kill from Thompson and two high-flying, big bouncers from Avery Skinner put the match away.
Skinner led the way with 27 total points (including 25 kills on 41 swings) with Thompson adding 13 points including 12 kills on 28 swings, while playing in just three sets due to planned substitutions.
The two teams will meet again in the Walter Pyramid Friday and Sunday, with both matches at 7pm. The women will be joined on the floor by the USA men’s team after Sunday’s match for an Olympic sendoff, in both teams’ final stateside appearance before they depart for the Paris Olympics.
