TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona volleyball alum, All-American Madi Kingdon (2011-14) is one of 26 players named to the U.S. Women's National Team preliminary roster for the inaugural FIVB Nations League that officially opens the 2018 season.
Kingdon is entering her third season training with the U.S. Women's National Team. She was named 2014 AVCA All-America Third-Team in her final season at Arizona where she finished ranked second in UA history in both career kills (1,943) and digs (1,366).
The FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) is in its first year replacing the long-standing FIVB World Grand Prix. The VNL has five consecutive weeks of preliminary round matches where 16 teams play in one of four round-robin pods each week around the world.
The U.S. Women, ranked second in the world by the FIVB, open the FIVB Volleyball Nations League against No. 22 Poland on May 15, followed by No. 12 Turkey on May 16 and No. 7 Italy on May 17. All three USA matches begin at 7 p.m. CT. The matches will be played at the Devaney Center on the University of Nebraska campus.
The U.S. will embark on an extensive road trip for the rest of the Volleyball Nations League preliminary round. The Americans travel to Toyota, Japan, to face host and No. 6 Japan, No. 8 Netherlands and No. 13 Belgium in matches held May 22-24. For the third week, Team USA challenges No. 9 Dominican Republic, No. 13 Germany and No. 16 Thailand May 29-31 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Americans remain in Asia for week four, which will be one of the most anticipated pools on the schedule. The U.S. will face top-ranked China, No. 4 Brazil and No. 5 Russia June 5-7 in Jiangmen, China. Team USA concludes pool play June 12-14 in Sante Fe, Argentina, against the No. 3 Serbia, No. 10 Korea and No. 11 Argentina.
The Volleyball Nations League Final Round will be played June 27 to July 1 in Nanjing, China. The top five teams in the preliminary round will join China to form the six-team Final Round field.
Team USA finished the 2017 season with an 18-8 record in which many first- and second-year players saw success with expanded playing time. The U.S. did not play a single match with all seven of its returning Olympians on the roster as many took time off early in the season, while other veterans took additional time off during the season-ending tournament.
U.S. Women's National Team Preliminary Roster for FIVB Volleyball Nations League
# - Player (Position, Height, College, Hometown)
1 – Micha Hancock (S, 5-11, Penn State, Edmond, Oklahoma)
3 – Carli Lloyd (S, 5-11, California, Bonsall, California)
4 – Justine Wong-Orantes (L, 5-6, Nebraska, Cypress, California)
5 – Rachael Adams (M, 6-2, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio)
6 – Tori Dixon (M, 6-3, Minnesota, Burnsville, Minnesota)
7 – Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Wisconsin, Aurora, Illinois)
8 – Lauren Gibbemeyer (M, 6-2, Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota)
9 – Madi Kingdon (OH, 6-1, Arizona, Hermosa Beach, California)
10 – Jordan Larson (OH, 6-2, Nebraska, Hooper, Nebraska)
11 – Annie Drews (OPP, 6-4, Purdue, Elkhart, Indiana)
12 – Kelly Murphy (OPP, 6-2, Florida, Wilmington, Illinois)
13 – Sarah Wilhite (OH, 6-1, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
14 – Michelle Bartsch-Hackley (OH, 6-3, Illinois, Champaign, Illinois)
15 – Kim Hill (OH, 6-4, Pepperdine, Portland, Oregon)
16 – Foluke Akinradewo (M, 6-3, Stanford, Plantation, Florida)
17 – Megan Courtney (OH/L, 6-1, Penn State, Dayton, Ohio)
18 – Aiyana Whitney (OPP, 6-5, Penn State, Norwood, New Jersey)
20 – Amanda Benson (L, 5-7, Oregon, Litchfield, Park, Arizona)
21 – Paige Tapp (MB, 6-1, Minnesota, Stewartville, Minnesota)
22 – Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Texas, Spring, Texas)
23 – Kelsey Robinson (OH, 6-2, Nebraska, Manhattan Beach, California)
24 – Kadie Rolfzen (OH, 6-3, Nebraska, Papillion, Nebraska)
25 – Chiaka Ogbogu (OH, 6-2, Texas, Coppell, Texas)
27 – Caroline Knop (L, 5-8, Florida, Pasadena, California)
28 – Krystal Rivers (OPP, 5-11, Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama)
29 – Lexi Dannemiller (S, 5-11, Michigan, West Chester, Ohio)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Luka Slabe, Tama Miyashiro, Erin Virtue
Technical Coordinator: Jeff Liu
Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Manager: Jimmy Stitz
FIVB Volleyball Nations League (Women's) Schedule
Week 1 - May 15-17
Pool 1 (Ekaterinburg, Russia): Russia, Argentina, Netherlands, Thailand
Pool 2 (Ningbo, China): China, Belgium, Dominican Republic, Korea
Pool 3 (Lincoln, Nebraska, USA): USA, Italy, Poland, Turkey
Pool 4 (Barueri, Brazil): Brazil, Germany, Japan, Serbia
Week 2 - May 22-24
Pool 5 (Toyota, Japan): Japan, Belgium, Netherlands, USA
Pool 6 (Suwon, Korea): Korea, Germany, Italy, Russia
Pool 7 (Macau, China): China, Poland, Serbia, Thailand
Pool 8 (Ankara, Turkey): Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic
Week 3 - May 29-31
Pool 9 (Apeldoorn, Netherlands): Netherlands, Brazil, Korea, Poland
Pool 10 (Kraljevo, Serbia): Serbia, Belgium, Russia, Turkey
Pool 11 (Bangkok, Thailand): Thailand, Dominican Republic, Germany, USA
Pool 12 (Hong Kong): Argentina, China, Italy, Japan
Week 4 - June 5-7
Pool 13 (Rotterdam, Netherlands): Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Italy, Serbia
Pool 14 (Jiangmen, China): China, Brazil, Russia, USA
Pool 15 (Nakhon Ratchasrima, Thailand): Thailand, Japan, Korea, Turkey
Pool 16 (Bydgoszcz, Poland): Poland, Argentina, Belgium, Germany
Week 5 - June 12-14
Pool 17 (Stuttgart, Germany): Germany, China, Netherland, Turkey
Pool 18 (Walbrzych, Poland): Poland, Dominican Republic, Japan, Russia
Pool 19 (Eboli, Italy): Italy, Belgium, Brazil, Thailand
Pool 20 (Santa Fe, Argentina): Argentina, Korea, Serbia, USA
