If Erik Sullivan had a say, he probably wouldn’t have chosen Italy as the opponent for his first-ever match as head coach of the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Team. And yet, Team USA’s opening match at the 2025 Volleyball Nations League saw an extremely green roster face off against the reigning Olympic and VNL champions.

With many of Team USA’s silver medalists from the Olympics taking a break this summer or having outright retired from playing with the national team, Sullivan took the opportunity to fill the training gym with fresh faces, many of whom have only just recently graduated from college or, in the case of Logan Lednicky and Olivia Babcock, are still student athletes. As far as times to field a largely inexperienced roster go, now isn’t a bad one given that the United States will automatically qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Italian head coach Julio Velasco, however, did not choose to turn his VNL roster over to newcomers. While many participating nations typically reserve their top players for the second or third week of the VNL–for example, Brazilian star Gabi Guimarães is not part of Brazil’s week one roster–Velasco brought his Olympic champions with him to Rio de Janeiro. And so the Italian A-team, led by superstar Paola Egonu and world-class setter Alessia Orro, faced off against a U.S. roster whose average years of pro experience comes out to 2.3 years.

The final match result was to be expected: Italy swept the U.S.–with relative ease. But the fresh faces of the U.S. didn’t go down without a fight. Here’s how it all transpired.

Match Recap

The first two sets were doubtlessly challenging for fans of Team USA to watch, as they both ended in scores of 13-25. The sets would have likely been even more lopsided if not for an off performance from Egonu, who made a combined seven errors through the first two sets. The U.S. failed to get anything going for themselves during these two sets; the offense was stifled by the disciplined Italian block, whose service pressure got the USA out of system on nearly every point, and defense didn’t fare any better. Blockers could barely get their hands on any balls, making it nearly impossible for back-court defenders to keep rallies going.

Then, things shifted. Despite the bloodbaths that were the first two sets, the young American group didn’t appear discouraged when they came out for the third set. Early in the set, middle blocker Molly McCage–who, at age 31, is the oldest member of this squad–got two back-to-back stuff blocks, the latter of which was on Egonu. This injected the team with a new life, and soon the U.S. had a four-point lead, prompting Italy’s first timeout of the match. Still, even after Velasco had a talk with his team, Italy continued to struggle, prompting yet another timeout at 16–9.

At 21-14, things looked promising for the U.S., who were just four points away from taking a set off of the world’s number one team. But Italy–led by Egonu and middle blocker Anna Danesi–had other plans. They attacked, blocked, and served their way into a whopping eight-point run, giving them a lead of 22-21. After letting so many points go unanswered, Team USA fought back until they had a set point opportunity. A kill by Egonu tied things up at 24-24, and from there the U.S. fought off several of Italy’s match points until an unfortunate U.S. service error and kill from middle blocker Sara Fahr gave Italy the match. The final set three score was 28-30.

Some Bright Spots to Keep in Mind

There’s no denying that kicking off the VNL with a 0-3 loss isn’t an auspicious start for the U.S. or its new coaching staff, but fans of Team USA shouldn’t be too discouraged. A 28-30 set score is significantly more of a fight than what the U.S. Olympic team put up against Italy last summer; in their straight-sets loss to Italy in the gold medal match, Team USA never reached more than 20 points. For this much less experienced team to push Italy into extra points is a victory of its own.

The standout of the match was opposite Logan Lednicky, who happens to be the second youngest member of the team. The 20-year-old rising senior at Texas A&M put up nine points against Italy; even if nothing else goes her way this VNL, she’ll have the memory of stuff-blocking Miriam Sylla to propel her in her final NCAA season. Molly McCage was also impressive with four blocks, two of which were on Egonu, while Wisconsin alum and 2023 AVCA Player of the Year Sarah Franklin looked solid offensively with nine kills. Lastly, middle blocker Amber Igieide registered six kills, four of which came in the third set. 

Key Areas for Improvement

If there is one thing that these young U.S. athletes should take away from this match, it’s that service reception needs serious work. Statistically, the passing was abysmal, with only 31% of passes being positive or perfect. Having an outside hitter who can reliably pass at a 50% positive rate or higher would do wonders for this team, so hopefully Khalia Lanier or Avery Skinner will help to stabilize serve reception in future weeks. Passing did improve noticeably in the third set, however, but still rarely gave the team’s setters all their attacking options to work with.

Speaking of setting–this is the area where I think not having a seasoned player really limits the ceiling of this team. Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres and Ella May Powell have both shown promise at various points in their careers, but with a combined five years of professional experience under their belts, it is asking a lot of them to lead the offense in the opening week of their first-ever VNLs. Again, better passing would help alleviate some of the pressure on them, but a seasoned setter who can reliably better the ball and serve as the emotional leader of the team could go a long, long way.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow, June 5th, the U.S. will play Brazil in front of the latter’s fiery home crowd. As mentioned earlier, Brazil is without outside hitter Gabi as well as a few other members of its Olympic team, but they are still strong contenders who will only benefit from the passion of their fans.

For the starting lineup, I’d like to see Olivia Babcock on the right side. She came in a few times against Italy, during which she registered a kill and a block apiece, but she deserves a look as a starter. As the reigning AVCA National Player of the Year, she has a lot of hype surrounding her, and for good reason. I’m excited to see what she can do.

Aside from Babcock, I think Franklin deserves another opportunity to start. Her passing is far from the worst that we saw, and she offers a healthy offensive outlet. Alongside her, I think captain Roni Jones-Perry may be a good counterpart. While her passing during this past season with LOVB Salt Lake wasn’t stellar, she’s the most seasoned outside hitter of the bunch and can likely serve as an emotional leader on the court.

Regardless of today’s result or those yet to come, I’m excited to see so many fresh faces in red, white, and blue.