The FIVB Volleyball Nations League is headed into its second leg. Former Arizona star Madi Kingdon Rishel will be with Team USA as it travels to the Philippines after playing in the first leg in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The VNL takes place over approximately six weeks in the summer. The 2022 edition is the fourth time the tournament has been held. This year, it consists of 16 women’s teams competing in two pools of eight teams each. The finals will be held in Turkey from July 13 to 17.
The U.S. went 3-1 in the first leg, dropping a match to Japan in straight sets. That places the No. 1-ranked team in the world in third place behind Japan (4-0) and China (3-1).
The U.S. will now play four matches in Quezon City, Philippines. They will face No. 18 Bulgaria, No. 10 Poland, No. 3 China, and No. 14 Thailand.
Kingdon Rishel competed at Arizona from 2011 to 2014. The program went 80-51 over those four years, including ending the 2014 season ranked No. 16 with a 24-10 record and a third-place finish in the Pac-12.
The outside hitter played 129 matches for Arizona, which ties her for third in program history. She ranks first in matches with at least 10 kills with 34 in 2014 and for career matches with at least 10 kills at 111. She ranks first in program history in both attempts in a season (1,813) and career attempts (5,656).
She holds second (634 in 2014) and seventh (508 in 2013) place in program history for kills in a season. Her 5.33 kills per set in 2014 rank fourth at Arizona. She also holds top-10 rankings in every other offensive stat kept by the school except assists, career hitting percentage, and hitting percentage for a season, none of which would be expected from an outside hitter.
The VNL can be viewed on Volleyballworld.tv, but it requires a subscription. The U.S. has won the three previous VNL tournaments.