Penn State Volleyball Duo To Play For Olympic Gold

Posted on by Ethan Kasales

Penn State women’s volleyball alumnae Haleigh Washington and Micha Hancock will play for Olympic gold alongside the United States after sweeping Serbia 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23) in the semifinals.

Washington made her seventh straight start of the Olympics at middle blocker and finished with seven points on five kills, two digs, one block, and one ace in Friday’s win at Ariake Arena. The U.S. improved to 6-1 in the tournament and will face undefeated Brazil (7-0) in the gold medal match Sunday at 12:30 a.m. ET.

Serbia beat the U.S. in the semifinals of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and eventually took home the silver medal, while the Americans snagged bronze that year. The U.S. put together a much more complete showing this time around against Serbia, especially on defense, largely limiting the production of star opposite hitter Tijana Bošković, who finished with a match-high 19 points but was held to a .120 hitting percentage.

This is the fourth straight Olympics the U.S. women’s national team has reached medal contention and the third time since 2008 that the Americans are playing for gold. After suffering a right ankle injury in the 3-2 win over Italy to wrap up pool play, setter Jordyn Poulter returned to the starting lineup for the U.S. against Serbia. Poulter had 32 assists, five digs, two blocks, and led the U.S. to a .333 hitting percentage.

Poulter’s return to the lineup meant Hancock — who had 37 assists in her first Olympic start, a sweep of the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals — was relegated to cheering on her teammates from the bench. However, that didn’t stop Hancock from bringing her typical energy and ensuring her team was ready to go. Her powerful jump serve could come in handy for head coach Karch Kiraly against Brazil.

Despite being dressed in full uniform for the second match in a row, star outside hitter Jordan Thompson did not record a stat against Serbia as she continues to recover from an ankle injury sustained in the 3-0 loss to the Russian Olympic Committee in the fourth match of pool play. Thompson’s return for the gold medal match against Brazil would provide a major boost for the American squad as it hopes to hand the Brazilians their first loss of the Tokyo Games.

Hancock and Washington are making the Penn State community extremely proud with their excellent performances so far in Tokyo, showing the world what the Nittany Lions can do on the biggest stage international volleyball has to offer. All eyes will be fixed on Sunday’s Olympic final to see whether the U.S. will don the gold medal.