The United States men’s national volleyball team is bringing some Olympic hardware back stateside.

I’m just gonna put it out there: July 7, 2019, was a great day for women’s sports in the United States.

For the U.S. women’s national volleyball team, the road to a repeat gold medal at the Volleyball Nations League runs through Poland and Brazil. 

In the final test run before results really start to matter for Team USA, the American squad takes on Bulgaria, Serbia, and Iran this week in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. 

In the next week or so, USA head coach Karch Kiraly faces the difficult task of determining which 14 players from what is perhaps the world’s deepest pool of talent to bring with him to Nanjing, China, for the Volleyball Nations League Final Round, where the USA will seek to defend its 2018 title.

Playing at home in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, the U.S. men’s national team finished Week 4 of the 2019 Volleyball Nations League with two wins and a loss and celebrated the season debuts of two veteran players. 

In the final week of Volleyball Nations League preliminary play, the U.S. women’s national team collected three victories.

When Karch Kiraly announced his 25-player roster for the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, three names—Jordan Thompson, Mary Lake, and Dana Rettke—stood out from the other, more familiar players on the list, for one very notable reason: the trio has not yet completed their college eligibility.

Just in time to return home and play in front of U.S. fans, the USA men were able to sustain a high level of performance. After managing just two wins in the first six matches, the Americans won all three matches in Week 3’s action in Cannes, France, to head into Hoffman Estates this weekend on a four-match win streak. 

Last week, things really seemed to click for Team USA against China. 

It’s the dawn of a new era for Argentina’s men’s volleyball team. A new coach is at the helm and FIVB VNL 2019 will be the first test. It’s also the world’s first real opportunity to see what Argentina is all about and in which direction the team is going.

It didn’t start the way they would have liked, but Week 4 of Volleyball Nations League proved to be a solid one for the U.S. women as they scored two valuable wins over Poland and China after being swept by Turkey.

The U.S. Men’s National Team enters Week 3 of the 2019 Volleyball Nations League with a 2-4 record, sitting ninth in the standings. However, with a spot in the Final Six already secured as the host team, USA’s accomplishments can be measured in something other than wins and losses. 

Another big week of Volleyball Nations League competition awaits the U.S. women’s national team as it travels to Jiangmen, China, to face Turkey, Poland, and China.

The U.S. men’s national team went 1-2 in the second week of pool play at Volleyball Nations League, losing to Italy and Russia and defeating Portugal in Ufa, Russia. With a 2-4 overall record, the USA sits ninth in the tournament standings heading into Week 3.