USA Volleyball Hosts Netherlands In Pre-Olympic Matches This Week
The United States women’s national volleyball team, preparing for the Olympic Games, will host the Netherlands at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid this week in a series of matches on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday evenings, all scheduled for 7 pm.
It’s the last chance to see the No. 2-ranked team in the world before they head to Paris to defend their historic gold medal, with the series of matches dubbed the USA Volleyball Cup expected to sell out, as they did two years ago.
U.S. Head Coach Karch Kiraly stated that these matches would be the Olympic Team’s final tuneup before departing for France. He added that it would also provide a great opportunity for fans to show support and the team to express gratitude and appreciation. Kiraly voiced hope for a large turnout to “Pack the Pyramid” and prepare for Paris.
In 2016, the US secured bronze by defeating the Netherlands in Rio, whereas the Dutch triumphed over the Americans at the 2018 World Championships. Their most recent encounter was in the 2021 Volleyball Nations League, where the USA swept the competition.
While there are no Long Beach natives on the USA women’s roster, Justine Wong-Orantes, a Cypress native, returns as the team’s libero with strong local ties. Wong-Orantes attended high school at nearby Los Alamitos and was involved in both playing and coaching with the club program Long Beach Mizuno. She played college volleyball at Nebraska and served briefly as an assistant coach at Long Beach State.
Local fans will have the opportunity to bid farewell to Long Beach State alums TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing, who are part of the USA men’s national team. The farewell will occur after the Sunday evening match, where both the women’s and men’s national teams will take the court. They will participate in an Olympic send-off celebration as both No. 2-ranked teams prepare to depart for Paris with aspirations for medals.
