U.S. Women Head Back to Lincoln for Volleyball Nations League

The state of Nebraska is building a great reputation as a go-to host for large-scale sporting events. Teams, players and organizations continue to choose Lincoln as the location for their championship contests because of our central location and enthusiasm for participants.

We are excited to welcome back to Lincoln the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team in May.

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team will return to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2018 as it hosts a four-team round-robin pod May 15-17 in the opening week of the new FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

Team USA, ranked No. 2 in the world by the FIVB, will host No. 7 Italy, No. 12 Turkey and No. 22 Poland at the 7,900-seat Bob Devaney Sports Center in the first scheduled international matches of the 2018 season.

Match tickets are on sale now through www.huskers.com/usavolleyball or 800-8-BIGRED. All session ticket prices are $36, $66 and $96. Single session tickets, which will go on sale at a later date, will be $15, $25 and $35.

“Any time we get to host any part of an international competition on American soil, we’re pumped because we love playing in front of American volleyball fans,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Karch Kiraly said. “But getting to play a preliminary week of Volleyball Nations League in Lincoln, Nebraska, with the amazing support and love that community has for our sport, leaves us ecstatic – Lincoln, we can’t wait to see you!”

The U.S. Women are familiar with the Lincoln community. The Americans hosted and won the 2016 NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament, an event played at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. The U.S. defeated Dominican Republic on the final night of the event with over 10,000 fans in attendance on a frigid, snowy evening in early January 2016. With that victory, the U.S. qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games where it went on to win the bronze medal with a 7-1 record.

The Team USA roster could have multiple University of Nebraska players returning to their Lincoln roots for the Volleyball Nations League matches. Two-time Olympic Games medalist Jordan Larson (Hooper, Nebraska), 2016 Olympian Kelsey Robinson (Manhattan Beach, California), libero Justine Wong-Orantes (Cypress, California) and middle Amber Rolfzen (Papillion, Nebraska) are all possible players to suit up for Team USA in Lincoln. This group is composed of former stars for Nebraska who played in front of the legendary Husker fans in their scarlet and cream uniforms.

The U.S. Women finished the 2017 season with an 18-8 record and the bronze medal at the season-ending FIVB World Grand Champions Cup. Italy finished the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix in second place but did not qualify for the World Grand Champions Cup. Turkey finished in 11th place in last year’s World Grand Prix. Poland, one of four challenger teams in this year’s VNL, won the second tier of the World Grand Prix in 2017.

I also want to recognize our Convention and Visitors Bureau staff for their work in bringing these matches to Lincoln. We have worked hard as an organization to develop strong relationships with the USAV and other sports governing bodies around the country. That hard work is paying off, and I know 2018 will be another huge year for sports in Lincoln.

The Chamber’s mission is to improve the lives of Lincoln residents by providing increased economic opportunity and can only be accomplished together. For more information on the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, (www.lcoc.com) please contact Jaime Henning at jaimehenning@lcoc.com.