Micha Hancock, Haleigh Washington Headed To Olympic Semifinals

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball alumnae Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington helped the United States advance to its fourth straight Olympic semifinals by sweeping the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-19) Wednesday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Hancock and Washington were both in the starting lineup for the U.S. in its most complete performance of the Olympics so far. Hancock earned her first Olympic start following Jordyn Poulter’s right ankle injury in the 3-2 win over Italy.

Hancock finished with a match-high 37 assists, six digs, a block, a kill, and an ace in the victory, while Washington had seven kills, two blocks, and an ace after making her sixth straight start at middle blocker. The U.S. (5-1) will face Serbia (5-1) Friday at 12 a.m. ET in the semifinals after it swept Italy.

Although Hancock struggled at times to keep her dominant jump serve in bounds, the Edmond, Oklahoma, native stepped up marvelously at setter in Poulter’s absence and orchestrated an impressive U.S. attack that hit .402 in the wire-to-wire win. Hancock fed the ball frequently to Annie Drews and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, who had a match-high 21 and 13 points, respectively.

Washington and the U.S. outblocked the Dominican Republic 8-5 and refused to surrender a single ace, tallying a 6-0 advantage from the service line. Washington showcased her usual fiery spirit on the court and was clearly having a great time competing alongside her teammates. She delivered the final kill of the match and erupted into a joyous celebration with the rest of the U.S. team at midcourt.

On the other side of the bracket, undefeated Brazil (6-0) will face South Korea (4-2) for a spot in the finals after the two teams beat ROC and Turkey, respectively.