Bajema Earns Spot On U.S. National Team For VNL
May 30, 2022 | Volleyball
The U.S. Women are the three-time VNL champions and ranked No. 1 in the world. In 2021, they won their first Olympic gold medal.
The U.S. Women open competition on Tuesday against Dominican Republic at 8 p.m. CT. They get a break before facing Canada at 8 p.m. CT on Friday, June 3.
The marquee match will be a 8 p.m. Saturday (June 4) against Brazil, whom the U.S. beat in the Tokyo Olympic final. The U.S. Women close things out against Japan at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday.
They will move on to play preliminary rounds in Quezon City, Philippines and Calgary, Canada. The finals will be July 13-17 in Ankara, Turkey. The roster can be adjusted before each phase, drawing form a pool of 25 players.
This is Bajema's second time representing Team USA since graduating, as she was part of the squad at the 2021 NORCECA Continental Championship, but being named to the Volleyball Nations League roster is another impressive step up for the former Husky, who broke the UW single season kills record in 2019 when she was named a First Team All-American.
All matches will be shown on VolleyballWorld.tv, which is a subscription service.
Another former Husky great, Tama Miyashiro, is one of the assistant coaches for the team.
2022 U.S. Women's VNL Schedule (All times PDT)
Week 1 – Bossier City, La.
Tuesday, May 31
6 p.m. USA vs. Dominican Republic
Friday, June 3
6 p.m. USA vs. Canada
Saturday, June 4
6 p.m. USA vs. Brazil
Sunday, June 5
1 p.m. Japan vs. USA
U.S. Women's Roster for VNL First Round
No. Name (Pos., Ht, Hometown, College, USAV Region)
5 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer)
6 Tori Dixon (MB, 6-3, Burnsville, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
7 Lauren Carlini (S, 6-2, Aurora, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
9 Madi Kingdon Rishel (OH, 6-1, Phoenix, Ariz., Univ. of Arizona, Arizona)
10 Brionne Butler (MB, 6-4, Kendleton, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star)
11 Annie Drews (Opp, 6-4, Elkhart, Ind., Purdue Univ., Hoosier)
12 Jordan Thompson (Opp, 6-4, Edina, Minn., Univ. of Cincinnati, North Country)
13 Sarah Wilhite Parsons (OH, 6-2, Eden Prairie, Minn., Univ. of Minnesota, North Country)
16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes)
18 Kara Bajema (OH, 6-2, Lynden, Wash., Univ. of Washington, Puget Sound)
19 Jenna Gray (S, 6-1, Shawnee, Kan., Stanford Univ., Heart of America)
22 Kendall White (L, 5-5, Zionsville, Ind., Penn State, Hoosier)
30 Ali Frantti (OH, 6-1, Spring Grove, Ill., Penn State, Great Lakes)
31 Anna Stevenson (MB, 6-2, Laurens S.C., Univ. of Louisville, Palmetto)
Head Coach: Karch Kiraly
Assistant Coaches: Erin Virtue, Tama Miyashiro, Alfee Reft
Performance Analyst: Brian Hurler
Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer: Kara Kessans
Team Doctor: Christopher Lee
Consultant Coach: Sue Enquist
Team Manager: Coley Pawlikowski
Sports Dietitian: Shawn Hueglin
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Brandon Siakel
