Megan Kaplon

The U.S. Women’s National Team looked unstoppable in Thailand during this week’s trio of Volleyball Nations League matches. 

In defeating Germany, Dominican Republic, and Thailand, the team extended its win streak to seven in a row—with 21 consecutive sets without a loss and counting.

Germany never stood a chance against the Americans, who found their rhythm and established a go-to roster the week before in Japan. In the Germany match, they played very error free, winning 25-18, 25-17, 25-17.  

After the match, Germany’s players and coaching staff expressed nothing but admiration for the U.S. team. 

“USA showed us today how we want to play in the future and I hope we will achieve that level of volleyball soon,” German captain Maren Fromm said. “We knew this would be a difficult game but we wanted to see where we are. Now we know what is missing on our side.”

“USA are really showing very intuitive volleyball. It’s not really so much fun to play against them, but it’s really fun to watch,” German head coach Felix Koslowski added. “They’re like an idol to us and we want to learn from them.”

Team USA showed similar poise versus the Dominican Republic on Wednesday. Star Dominican hitter Brayelin Martinez had 19 points, but a more well-balanced American offense saw four players contribute double-digit points and win the match 25-20, 25-23, 25-21. 

For the second night in a row, Michelle Bartsch-Hackley led the team in points, matching Martinez’s 19 with 14 kills, four aces, and a block. The 28-year-old outside hitter has proven herself on a roster that also includes all three outsides from the 2016 Olympic team. 

In the last match of the week, Bartsch-Hackley got a chance to rest, with Larsen and Hill earning the start against Thailand. Despite an arena filled with enthusiastic pro-Thailand spectators, Team USA once again dominated. In the 25-10, 25-22, 25-16 victory, Larsen led with a match-high 15 points. 

The Americans’ defensive efforts prevented any of the Thai players from reaching double digits in points. 

Toward the end of last week’s matches in Japan, USA head coach Karch Kiraly started implementing the double-sub, and did so again in each of this round’s three matches. 

Carli Lloyd has retained her hold on the starting setter position, with Micha Hancock serving as the setter in the double-sub. Kelly Murphy and Annie Drews shared the starting opposite position in this week’s three matches, while Murphy, Drews, and Sarah Wilhite have all played the role of the substitute.

With their performance this week, the Americans retained their lead in the tournament standings. Ranked No. 1 with 25 total points and an 8-1 record, USA leads Brazil by one point and Serbia by two.

Two weeks remain in the preliminary round of the inaugural VNL competition, and although Team USA is in a good position, some of its toughest matches are still to come. Next week, in China, the Americans face Russia, Brazil and China—all of which are ranked in the top-five in the world.