The reigning Olympic gold medal women’s volleyball team are in North Texas for an international qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympics. While Team USA has already qualified, the actual team will not be announced until June.
The Volleyball Nations League is coming back to the USA and making a stop in Arlington at the College Park Center.
Coppell’s Chiaka Ogbogu is once again a member of that team, hoping to help them to Olympic gold once again after their gold medal performance in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Before making Team USA she was an All-American at the University of Texas-Austin in her career from 2013-2017 and before that lead her volleyball team at Coppell High School to state titles in 2011 and 2012.
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Other notable Texans to watch in the tournament for Team USA include:
- Asjia O’Neal from Southlake, TX – Middle Blocker
- Made her senior national team debut at 2023 Volleyball Nations League
- Two-time AVCA first team All American at the University of Texas who helped the team to NCAA championships in 2022 and 2023
- Finished at Texas with the most blocks in school history topping her U.S. Women’s teammate Chiaka Ogbogu
- Avery Skinner from Katy, Texas – Outside Hitter
- Helped the U.S. Women earn berth to Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the 2023 FIVB Road to Paris Olympic Qualifier
- Made her senior national team debut at 2022 pan Am Cup
- Won the 2020 NCAA National Championship with University of Kentucky
- All-American at both Kentucky and Baylor University (played 2017-20 at Kentucky and final season in 2021 at Baylor)
- Best Spiker and Best Scorer at 2022 Pan Am Cup
- Brionne Butler from Kendleton, Texas – Middle Blocker
- Butler has been a member of Team USA since 2019 and participated in VNL in 2022
- Made senior national team debut at 2019 Pan American Cup
- First-team AVCA All-American in 2021 and 2020; AVCA All-American honorable mention in 2018
- Invited to train with the senior U.S. team in spring 2020 (canceled due to Covid)
- 2017 Women’s Junior (U20) National Team
- 2015-16 Girls Youth (U18) National Team
- Madisen Skinner from Katy, Texas – Outside Hitter
- Four-time AVCA All American; made the first team in 2023
- Played two years at the University of Kentucky where the team won the National Championship in 2020
- Transferred to Texas and won National Championship in 2022 and 2023
- Named Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 National Championship Tournament
- Won the 2023 Honda Sport Award for volleyball
- 2019 USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship All-Tournament Team
USA Women's Schedule
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Friday, May 31, 8pm Bulgaria vs. USA
Saturday, June 1, 4:30pm, Poland vs USA
Sunday, June 2, 3pm USA vs Turkey
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, May 31
Session 1: 1:00 pm (18:00 GMT) - Germany vs Poland
Session 2: 4:30 pm (21:30 GMT) - Serbia vs Canada
Session 3: 8:00 pm (01:00 +1 GMT) - Bulgaria vs USA
Saturday, June 1
Session 1: 1:00 pm (18:00 GMT) - Korea vs Türkiye
Session 2: 4:30 pm (21:30 GMT) - Poland vs USA
Session 3: 8:00 pm (01:00 +1 GMT) - Serbia vs Bulgaria
Sunday, June 2
Session 1: 11:30 am (16:30 GMT) - Korea vs Canada
Session 2: 3:00 pm (20:00 GMT) - USA vs Türkiye
Session 3: 6:30 pm (23:30 GMT) - Bulgaria vs Germany
The international tournament will host the world’s top teams who will compete May 28-June 2 for the last major volleyball event before the Paris Olympics and the only VNL games in the USA this year. Teams slated to appear also include: Volleyball Nations League 2023 Champions Türkiye along with Canada, Korea, Germany, Serbia, Bulgaria and Poland.
