Avery Skinner, Kathryn Plummer, and Morgan Hentz are among the new faces in the US squad aiming to retain their title at Paris 2024. Find out more about the 'rookies' of the team here.
5 minBy Alessandro Poggi
Volleyball
A perfect blend of experience and youth.
That’s the formula crafted by coach Karch Kiraly for the USA women’s volleyball team as they prepare to defend their Olympic title at Paris 2024.
Since their triumph at Tokyo 2020 in 2021, the American team has seen the addition of several newcomers, complementing the 'core' composed of eight Olympic gold medallists, which includes stars Jordan Larson, Micha Hanco*ck, and Annie Drews.
From Avery Skinner to Kathryn Plummer and Khalia Lanier, find out below who are the ‘rookies’ who have recently joined the US squad on a regular basis.
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Avery Skinner
The 24-year-old outside hitter made her senior national team debut at the 2022 Pan Am Cup, where she was named best scorer and best spiker on her way to winning bronze.
At this year’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals, the daughter of 14-year NBA veteran Brian scored 32 points, with only Andrea Drews (37) outperforming her on the US team. After playing in the North American NCAA for Kentucky and Baylor, Skinner had her first international experience as a pro in France with Beziers last season.
This year, she has joined Chieri in the Italian League: “The main reason I wanted to come to Italy was to play in one of the best leagues in the world and compete against the world’s best players,” she told Volleynews.it.
Kathryn Plummer
The three-time NCAA champion has been a member of the US team since 2019 after a successful youth career in both beach and indoor volleyball.
Since leaving college, the 1.98m-tall spiker has been playing professionally in Italy and Japan, and last season she led Imoco Conegliano to an Italian and a Club World Championship title. After being selected as an alternate for Tokyo 2020, the 25-year-old Californian aims to have a key role at Paris 2024.
Dana Rettke
The Illinois native was a member of the US team who triumphed in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League in Nanjing, and she also took part in the 2019 Olympic Qualifier, although she wasn’t selected for Tokyo 2020.
The 2.04m-tall middle-blocker, who became the first player to be an All-American in five seasons, led Wisconsin to the 2021 NCAA Championship and was awarded the Honda Sport Award for the best collegiate female athlete in volleyball.
From January 2022, the 24-year-old has been playing professionally in Italy for Vero Volley Monza, where she made an immediate impact, helping the team reach the Coppa Italia and Serie A 1 playoff final.
Morgan Hentz
The Kentucky-born libero has been part of the US team since 2022, making her international debut at the Volleyball Nations League.
During her college career, she was the defensive focal point for Stanford, where she won three NCAA titles in four years (2016, ’18, ’19) and also played for the university beach volleyball team. After moving to Germany in 2020-21, the Kentucky native underwent meniscus surgery and became a pro last season with Athletes Unlimited in Dallas, facing top college teams in a unique new-team-each-week format.
“I learned so much on the mental and emotional side of the game,” Hentz told VolleyballMag.com. “You have to know your strengths, know your weaknesses, and be able to say them to your teammates because you have to get to know each other so quickly. A new team is formed each week and the teams that can do that are most successful. Who can jell the best.”
Alexandra (Ali) Frantti
The outside hitter made her senior national team debut during the 2022 Volleyball Nations League and since winning the 2014 NCAA title with Penn State, she has played professionally in Italy, France, and Slovenia. The 27-year-old has contributed with 64 points in the 2023 VNL campaign of team US.
Khalia Lanier
The spiker, whose father Bob was an 8-time NBA All Star, joined the senior US team for the first time during this year’s VNL, where she scored 119 and 30 points in the preliminary and final phases, respectively.
Already a U18 world silver medallist, Lanier ended the last campaign in Italy with Volleyball Bergamo with a total of 459 points across 31 games in all competitions and next season will play for Club World Cup champions Imoco Conegliano.
Asjia O’Neal
Like Lanier, the 23-year-old is the daughter of a former NBA All-Star (Jermaine), and she got her first taste of the national team during this summer's VNL, where she was one of the youngest US players.
After overcoming a heart condition, the middle blocker excelled at college level, helping the University of Texas win the national title in 2022.
“I remember my first year playing. I told my uncle that I would love to play in the Olympics, Paris 2024,” O’Neal told Spectrum News.
Asjia is not part of the US roster for the Olympic Qualifying tournament for Paris 2024, but Team USA coach Kiraly was impressed by her debut: "We threw her into the deep end of international volleyball and she never looked like she was close to drowning. She always kept her poise ... really just unfazed and steady and even."
